


Over Your Head and Under Your Nose

by JudysCarrotPen (toriels_sock_drawer)



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Angst, Blood and Gore, Ch. 13 is 2nd Person, Conspiracy, Cybercrime, Death, Death like the Dickens, Detectives, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hackers, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Post-Canon, Secret Organizations, Secret Society, Self-Harm, Slow Burn, Suicide, Suspense, a bit film noir, beta reading is for puSSiEs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2018-07-27 13:25:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 78,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7619839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toriels_sock_drawer/pseuds/JudysCarrotPen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>B L O<br/>e i   r<br/>t v   g<br/>t e   a<br/>e s   n<br/>r   .   i<br/>.   .   z<br/>.   .   a<br/>.   .   t<br/>.   .   i<br/>.   .   o<br/>.   .   n</p><p> </p><p>[how much do you know]</p><p> </p><p>>ac super caput tuum::</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 01001111/01101110/01100101

**Author's Note:**

> 01010100011010000110100101110011 0110100101110011 0110011101101111011011100110111001100001 0110001001100101 010001100101010101001110

     The handcuffed pig was steered by his shoulders into the station by McHorn, grumbling about his wrinkled suit. Officers Hopps and Wilde sauntered in behind them, sipping on their coffee. Nick took off his sunglasses.

     “Y’know,” he said to Judy, “That was almost too easy.”

     “I know, right?” she said, “It’s like it’s amatuer week.”

     The pig looked over his shoulder at Officer McHorn, a grimace on his face.

     “Just...please don’t tell my fiancé about this, alright?” he said through clenched teeth.

     “That her engagement ring was stolen from your brother’s jewelry store?” Nick piped. “Don’t worry. We’ll let _you_ deal with that.”

     The pig groaned as McHorn lead him downstairs to the station’s overnight cell. Nick snickered as he followed Judy into the lounge.

     “I’m telling you, he practically looked like a Bond villain in the tapes.”

     “I know,” Judy said with a chuckle, “How much more obvious can you get with trying not to look like you’re breaking into a display case?”

     Nick and Judy sat themselves at one of the tables. They clinked cups and sipped. Judy made a noise through her lid and pointed a finger.

     “By the way,” she said, wiping her mouth, “I found this movie the other day…”

     “Oh god,” Nick groaned, “Is it another one of those slasher films that you’ve made me watch?”

     “...Maybe.”

     “Jesus, Carrots,” said Nick, “I still don’t understand how you handle those things.  There’s so much blood, and guts, and stupid teenagers--”

     “This one’s cool though,” Judy said, “It’s about this group of friends up in this cabin in the mountains where one of their siblings had died the year before, and it plays with a bunch of different classic horror movie tropes. It’s actually pretty funny. It satirizes cheesy horror movie clichés, but it’s also got enough mutilation to keep it interesting. I actually think you’d like this one!”

     Nick rolled his eyes at her. “Last time you made me watch one of those,” he said, “I didn’t sleep for weeks.”

     “No,” Judy said, “You slept just fine. You didn’t stir once on my floor that whole week.”

     Nick’s fur stiffened on his neck as he sheepishly looked at his coffee. Judy laughed.

     “I still can’t believe you sent those Snapcats of me to the whole precinct,” Nick grumbled.

     “Aw, c’mon!” Judy said, “I _asked_ you if you wanted me to delete them!”

     “Yeah,” Nick muttered, “Whatever.”

     Suddenly, Clawhauser’s voice crackled over the radios on the officers’ vests.

     “Officers Wilde and Hopps, do you copy?” he chirped.

     Nick raised his mouthpiece from its clip. “Loud and clear, polka-dots,” he said.

     “Chief wants you up in his office,” said Clawhauser, “As soon as you can, he said.”

     Judy gave Nick a look.

     “What did you do _now,_ slick?” she asked.

     “Don’t worry, no one’s in trouble,” Clawhauser said.

     “Oh thank _god_.”

     “I think it might be a new assignment,” said Clawhauser. “Anyways, just make sure you make it up there before he comes down looking for you.”

     “Copy that,” Judy said into her receiver.

     Nick pushed his chair away from the table. “Guess we should get on upstairs, then,” he said, stretching his arms over his head.

     “Last one there has to pay for takeout tonight!” said Judy, jumping up from her chair and sprinting out of the room.

     Nick chased after her. “Hey!” he said, “I paid last time!” 

* * *

     Bogo stared blankly at the panting rabbit and fox sitting across from him. Their fur was streaked with sweat, and they were leaning their paws on the edge of his desk. Judy beamed from across the table at him, whereas Nick’s face was dressed with a scowl. Bogo stared at them in silence. He cleared his throat.

     “Hopps...Wilde…” he said, “...Is there something I should know about?”

     They looked at him quizzically.

     “What do you mean?” Judy asked.

     “Well,” Bogo said, “I know that your schedules are occasionally free during your work hours, but I would advise you to limit your engagement in these private practices elsewhere.”

     There was a beat. Judy’s eyes popped open and Nick’s jaw fell. They both turned red.

     “Oh my gosh!” Judy yelled, “No! No, we weren’t--oh my _gosh!_ ”

     “Jesus, Chief, really?” Nick asked, “We aren’t--no!”

     Bogo raised an eyebrow at them. He smirked.

     “Anyways,” he said, “Order of business.”

     Bogo leaned forward and placed his elbows on his desk. He placed his hooves together and exhaled.

     “I’ve been thinking long and hard these past few weeks,” he began, “About your commitment to the force. You’ve been strong and determined since day one, and you never cease to exceed my expectations. Sure, you can get on my nerves like no one’s business, but...well, to put it plainly, you’re both spectacular at what you do.”

     “Aw, Chief, I’m flattered,” Nick said, “You’re gettin’ me all misty-eyed.”

     “Make another comment and your tail will end up mounted on my wall,” Bogo stated plainly.

     Nick gave him a smug smile. Bogo’s eyes smiled back.

     “As I was saying,” he continued, “I’ve been watching you two closely, seeing you crack case, after case, after case, and...I think you two should get a bit of a promotion.”

     The two straightened up and looked at each other. Judy’s nose twitched.

     “What do you mean?” she asked.

     “We’ve had a shortage lately in our department of investigators,” Bogo said. “How would you two feel about becoming Zootopia’s first fox and rabbit detective pair?”

     Judy and Nick looked at each other with beaming eyes. A slow smile appeared across their faces.

     “ _Detectives?_ ” Judy asked, bouncing in her seat. “Chief, that sounds _great!_ ”

     “Are you kidding?” asked Nick, “That would... _wow_! That’d be great!”

     “Of course,” Bogo said, “You’d have to fill out some paperwork in order for you to transfer departments and official rank, you could run that by Clawhauser and I’m sure that you’d be able to get it all from him. We’d discuss upping your pay; we’d draft a contract that we agree on, and--”

     Suddenly, Bogo’s radio crackled to life.

     “Uh, Chief?” Clawhauser asked.

     Bogo deflated. He brought the mic to his mouth and held the button. “Later, Clawhauser,” he said, “I’m in a meeting right now.”

     “Sir, this is very important…”

     “Can it wait _two minutes_?”

     “Definitely not.”

     Bogo sighed and rubbed his eyes. He mouthed an apology to Judy and Nick before raising the microphone to his mouth once more.

     “Fine,” he said, “What is it?”

     “Turn on your TV, sir.”

     The three of them looked at each other, their brows furrowing. Dead air crackled through the radio’s speaker.

     “Chief, do you copy?”

     “Yes, copy that,” Bogo said, “What’s going on?”

     “Just...just turn on your TV.” said Clawhauser.

     “Which channel?”

     Clawhauser gulped. “...Any channel…” he said.

     Bogo slowly lowered his microphone, staring at Judy and Nick. The two of them looked at each other, then back at Bogo. They collectively swallowed.

     Bogo opened a desk drawer and pulled out a TV remote. He pointed at the television in the top corner of his office and flicked it on. Nick and Judy turned to look at it.

     Displayed on the screen was a scene half-frozen. Two news anchors were sitting at a news table, but the screen had glitched, morphing and decoloring them. A soft, rapid clicking echoed through the speakers.

     “It looks like you need to get a new TV,” Nick said, leaning back in his chair.

     Suddenly, a logo appeared on the screen, accompanied by a high pitched tone. It was an ink-drawn moth with a monogram above it containing the letters ‘O’, ‘B’ and ‘L’. A small scroll framed the bottom with a phrase written in Latin. Bogo leaned forward against his desk.

     “What the hell is this?” he grumbled.

     Suddenly, the screen cut to the image of a large white Bauta mask shrouded in darkness. It slowly tilted its head. A digitally distorted voice roared through the speakers.

     “ _Greetings, citizens of Zootopia_ ,” it crackled. The mask approached closer.

     Judy and Nick sat up in their chairs, their eyes glued to the screen. Bogo slowly picked up his microphone.

     “Fangmyer,” he said, “Do you copy?”

     “Yes Chief,” her voice crackled.

     “Are you in the tech lab at the moment?” Bogo asked.

     “Yeah,” she said, “Are you seeing this too?”

     “Yes,” Bogo said, “Get me coordinates of the broadcasting location immediately.”

     “Copy that.”

     With a pop, the radio went silent. Nick and Judy looked back at Bogo, trying to read  his expression.

     “ _I apologize for the interruption,_ ” the voice continued, “ _But I have some very important news that I’d like to share with you all._ ”

     “What do you think it is, Chief?” Judy asked, “A cyber attack?”

     “I think it’s some kid playing a very dangerous prank,” Bogo said, “But it’s not good to jump to early conclusions.”

     “ _I must say this quickly,_ ” the voice blared, “ _Because I do not have much time. I hope you’re all paying attention._ ”

     Suddenly, a paw reached up and grabbed the front of the mask. It pulled it up and over the mammal’s head…

     ...to reveal a young tiger, no older than fifteen. He was wearing a black hoodie with a red t-shirt beneath. His cheeks were matted with tears.

     Nick and Judy jumped to their feet. Bogo grabbed his microphone from the table and grasped it tightly.

     “Fangmyer, I need coordinates now,” he said. “Do you copy?”

     “Sir,” Wolford said from the other end of the line, “All computers are unresponsive, we’re just receiving the feed and nothing else.”

     “Wolford, what are you doing down there?” Bogo asked, “Where’s Fangmyer?”

     “She seems to be having a panic attack, sir,” said Wolford, “Delgato’s tending to her as we speak.”

     “What?” Bogo asked, “What happened?”

     “We don’t know,” Wolford stammered, “She saw the kid and then--”

     “ _I’m being watched_ ,” the young tiger said, his voice now unaltered. “ _Not just by you, but by someone else. I need you all to listen closely before I’m cut off._ ”

     The tiger rustled around off-screen and pulled out a piece of paper. He placed it on the desk in front of him and began to read it with a trembling voice.

     “ _Sometimes taking over pairing them happens every making,_ ” he read, “ _Back even forward over really evening ignore tell sorry talk of offer light acquire torrent evil._ ”

     “Jesus Christ,” Nick said, “Is he having a stroke?”

     “It’s a code,” said Bogo, “Hopps, write it down.”

     Judy quickly grabbed a pen and paper from the top of Bogo’s desk and began to scribble furiously. The tiger continued.

     “ _Marking having after rocking evening because arson clever kill--_ ”

     “I can’t get this all down,” Judy said, “He’s going too fast!”

     The tiger threw the piece of paper down and leaned in towards the camera, tears welling in his eyes.

     “ _Better Lives Organization_ ,” he said. “ _Better Lives Organization_.”

     Judy and Nick looked at each other. They shared a moment of confusion. They turned their gaze to Bogo, whose eyes were still glued to the screen. He still held the microphone in his hoof.

     “Wolford,” Bogo said, “Do you copy?”

     “Yes sir.”

     “Updates. _Now_.”

     “Computers still frozen,” Wolford said, “Fangmyer still catatonic. I began recording the feed on my phone, we can review it later.”

     The tiger was now crying. He was mumbling ‘ _I’m sorry_ ’ repeatedly as he bowed his head and reached offscreen.

     “What’s he doing?” Nick asked.

     The tiger slowly pulled a pistol from offscreen and placed it in his paws. He let out a burst of tears as he slowly placed his head against the butt of it, curled over his desk. Suddenly, after a brief moment, he took a deep breath, sat up, and rested the barrel between his teeth. His eyes slowly closed.

     The three in the room were now all on their feet, staring into the TV. Judy instinctively grabbed Nick’s arm.

     “Oh my god,” Nick muttered.

**_BANG_ **

     The tiger’s head flew back with a flash of light as the pistol jolted away from his mouth. The gun landed on the table with a slam as his arms fell to his side. His head lolled back at a bit of an angle, and blood began to dribble down his chin.

     The sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the speakers. A door creaked open and a light flicked on. The beige walls of the tigers bedroom were illuminated, the wall behind him splattered with blood. A voice cried out as the video glitched and froze.

     Suddenly, the TV cut back to the news station. The anchors sat frozen behind their desks, blinking. They were looking in shock over the cameras, presumably at the monitors behind them. A voice whispered that they were live.

     “We--we apologize for the interruption,” the snow leopard stammered, “It seems our feed cut out for a moment there, but it seems that we’ve fixed it.”

     “We’re assessing the issue so we hopefully won’t deal with ones of similar nature in the future,” the moose said with a swallow, “Again, we apologize for the interruption. Back to today’s regularly scheduled news--”

     “Wolford,” Bogo growled into the mic, “I need those computers fixed _right now_.”

     “We have our location sir,” Wolford said.

     “You fixed them?” Bogo asked.

     “No,” he said, “We got it from Fangmyer.”

     “What?” said Bogo, “I thought she was in shock.”

     “She still is, a bit,” Wolford said, “But she’s responsive. It’s in a suburban neighborhood in the rainforest district.”

     “How did she get the location without the computers?” Bogo asked.

     A deep sigh crackled through the radio speaker.

     “She said that she recognized it as her parent’s house,” said Wolford. “That was her brother onscreen.”

     Bogo slowly lowered his microphone and brought a hoof to his face. Nick and Judy exchanged looks of shock. Dead air crackled through the speaker.

     “Chief,” Wolford said, “Do you copy?”

     “Yes,” Bogo said. “Get the address in the system and send out a response team. We’ll send more people down later. Get Fangmyer to a hospital for trauma treatment.”

     “Yes sir,” he said, “Clawhauser, are you on?”

     “Yes,” Clawhauser choked on the other end, “Roger that.”

     “Good,” he said, “We’ll send two detectives down with the team in a moment. If a group has already left it’s alright, they’ll accompany the next wave.”

     “Copy that,” said Clawhauser. “I’ll send out a response team.”

     Bogo set down the microphone and rubbed his eyes. He slumped back down in his chair with a sigh as Judy and Nick slowly sat down as well. A silence hung in the room as they sat there, absorbing it all. Suddenly, Bogo leaned forward.

     “You two better figure this out,” he said, “And figure it out _fast_.”

     Judy and Nick jumped to their feet and took a deep breath. “Yes Chief,” they stated in unison.

     A hint of smile flickered at the corner of Bogo’s mouth.

     “Good,” he said. “Now get the hell out of my office.”

     Judy and Nick darted out of his office, leaving the door swinging behind them. Bogo leaned back in his chair.

     “Godspeed, detectives,” he mumbled to himself.


	2. 01010100/01110111/01101111

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gninaem a sah gnihtyreve

     The two detectives stepped out of the patrol car and walked up the driveway of 4514 Arbados Street. Patrol cars were lining the property, red and blue lights flashing against the walls of the cozy little house among the trees. Ambulances were heard approaching from the distance as caution tape was unrolling across the driveway. Officer Grizzoli stood on the porch, waiting for them.

     “Officer Hopps, Officer Wilde,” he said with a slight bow, “Chief said you two would show up.”

     “Actually,” Nick said, “I believe it’s _Detective_ Hopps and Wilde, if I’m not mistaken.”

     “Oh,” Grizzoli said, raising his eyebrows, “Well, congratulations. I’m surprised Bogo offered the opportunity, given your track record.”

     “What’s our status, Grizzoli?” Judy asked.

     “We don’t know,” he said, “We have yet to enter the premises, we just arrived”

     “Well, do the Fangmyers know we’re here?” Judy asked.

     “I would imagine,” Grizzoli said, “There’s no way that they didn’t hear us pull up.”

     “May I do the honor?” Nick asked.

     Grizzoli politely stepped back and gestured to the door. Nick stepped up to the doorbell and lightly pressed it with a finger. Bells echoed from the inside of the house.

     “Mr. and Mrs. Fangmyer,” Nick called, “It’s the ZPD, we’re here to investigate an emergency. May we come in?”

     There was a long silence. Nothing stirred from inside the house for a long while. Nick gave a slow look back to Judy.

     “Press it again,” she said.

     Nick pressed the doorbell once more, and the same sequence of bells chimed from within.

     “Hello?” he asked, “Mr. and Mrs. Fangmyer? Anyone home?”

     More silence.

     Nick slowly brought his hand to the doorknob. He barely tapped it and the door cracked open. Nick took a step back, taking his hand away. There was a beat. He carefully placed his hand on the door and gave it a gentle push. He watched as it gently swung open.

     Judy and Nick quietly unholstered their dart guns and raised them into the house. Nick let Judy push past him and step in front of him. She slowly trudged into the darkness.

     The living room was a complete wreck. Tables and chairs were overturned, bookshelves were toppled, curtains were torn from their racks. Shattered glass was strewn across the floor among scattered scraps of newspaper. The window was wide open, creating a windy passageway across the room. Nick and Judy slowly lowered their guns.

     “...Sweet cheese and crackers…” Judy whispered.

     “I have a feeling that this wasn’t just a suicide,” Nick said.

     “Obviously not,” Judy said.

     Judy walked further into the room, carefully stepping over fallen books and shards of glass that peppered the floor. Nick followed close behind.

     “Mr. and Mrs. Fangmyer?” she called, “Are you there?...It’s--it’s the ZPD, we’re here to help.”

     There was a crash from the other room. Judy and Nick quickly raised their guns towards the door. They quietly trotted to it as a couple more officers filed into the room. Judy flanked one side of the doorway as Nick pressed up against the other. He quietly gave her a countdown on his fingers.

_3_

_2_

_1_

     Nick and Judy burst into the room, guns raised and ready. They quickly surveyed the area.

     It was the young tiger’s room. It looked like a tornado had flown through it. His bed was turned on its side, his desk’s drawers had been completely taken out and emptied, and his closet had been completely destroyed. His blood was strewn across the back wall near his window, still wet. The window had been shattered, spewing glass across the desk and floor. Nick and Judy dropped their guns to their sides, crestfallen.

     “What’s in there?” Grizzoli asked.

     “Nothing,” Judy said.

     “What do you mean, ‘nothing’?”

     “We mean _‘nothing’_ ,” Nick said, “The room’s been completely ransacked and the body is gone.”

     “You mean he’s not in there?”

     “No, he isn’t,” Judy said, placing her paws on top of her head. She brushed them down across her ears, pulling at the tips. Nick sauntered over to the desk as more officers began to file into the room.

     “Just checked the kitchen,” Officer Higgins said over the radio, “No sign of anybody. The whole place is a wreck, there’s shattered dishes everywhere.”

     “Well, this is just great,” Judy said, “Now we have three missing mammal cases on our hands, one of which is a body.”

     “Wait,” said Nick.

     He bent down and reached into one of the drawers thrown on the floor. He pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. Judy ran to his shoulder as he unfolded it.

     Inside was a message typed in glossy lettering.

_**'Vs lbh’er fzneg, lbh’yy qebc gur pnfr'**_

     Below it was an ink-drawn moth, with a monogram containing the letters ‘O’, ‘L’, and ‘B’.

     “What the heck is this?” Judy asked, “Some dead language?”

     “I’ve never seen a dead language with this many consonants,” Nick said, rubbing his neck.

     “Let me see,” said Grizzoli, over their shoulder.

     Nick handed the note to him. Grizzoli held it close to his face for a moment, grumbling to himself. Suddenly, he lowered it.

     “Nope,” he said, “Haven’t got a clue.”

     He handed the note back to Nick. Judy stood up and walked back into the living room, surveying the wreckage. She let out a sigh.

     “Alright,” she said, “Start an inventory of everything in the house. Get the historian in here and cover this building top to bottom. Send in the forensics team and begin a sweep, I want every possible clue identified and documented.”

     A chorus of _‘Yes, Detective’_ echoed through the house as a sea of officers began to mill about the room. This caused Judy to straighten up, and the hint of a smile briefly  appeared on her.

     “Tell the paramedics to pack up and leave,” Nick said to the group, “Unless they wanna come in and wheel away an imaginary body. Which, I mean, hey...nobody’s stoppin’ ‘em.”

     Another school of _‘Yes, Detective’_ s answered. Nick walked over to Judy with a smug grin on his face.

     “That feels _great,_ doesn’t it?” he asked her.

     “Yeah,” she sighed, “I just...what do we do now? Our only lead is completely indecipherable, our witnesses are missing, and our victim’s background info is currently stuck in a hospital bed. Where do we go from here?”

     Nick kneeled down next to Judy and placed his paw on her shoulder.

     “I wouldn’t be so quick to jump to conclusions,” Nick said. “Look, let’s stay a little while and oversee the forensics investigation, then we can go back to the station and sit down with Wolford to figure these crazy messages out. We have multiple leads: this note and the video. We’re gonna figure this out, don’t worry.”

     Judy sighed and placed her forehead against Nick’s chest. Nick slowly rubbed her head and let out a sigh. Mammals in blue began to fill the room, flashes from cameras echoing across the walls. Voices flowed in and out as lights from the patrol cars flashed from outside the window, throwing the room into a thundering pool of red and blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those of you who know binary code must be disappointed with the messages I've been leaving so far


	3. 01010100/01101000/01110010/01100101/01100101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i lodt oyu otn ot

     Judy and Nick walked into the dimly lit tech lab. Computer monitors of varying shapes and sizes (the smaller ones a product of the Mammal Inclusion Program) lined the walls. Blue desktops cast a cool light throughout the room, setting a very deep and cavernous atmosphere. Nick and Judy swam further into the room.

     “Officer Wolford?” Judy called, “Are you in here?”

     A head popped up from behind one of the monitors near the back of the room. The grey timberwolf was wearing his ZPD t-shirt, and he had headphones stuck in his ears. A pair of black rectangular glasses rested lightly on his nose. He reached a paw up to his ear and removed an earbud.

     “Wolford!” Nick exclaimed, “You never told me you wore glasses!”

     “Oh,” Wolford said, sheepishly removing them, “Well, yeah, I--I don’t wear them very often. Just when I’m in the lab sometimes.”

     “You should wear them more often,” Judy said. “They look good on you.”

     Wolford chuckled as he put them back on. “Thanks,” he said. “Anyways, I’m glad you two showed up, I wanna show you something.”

     Nick and Judy walked to Wolford’s desk and pulled up a chair. Wolford had several tabs open, one of them displaying the Zootopia Times.

     “This happened at--what, 12:00? 1:00 today?” Wolford asked. “Anyways, it happened early this afternoon and it is now…” he checked his watch, “...5:32, and yet--”

     Wolford clicked between tabs, all of them news sites. They all displayed headlines about the elections for mayor, the annual Pred Pride Parade, and other miscellaneous events.

     “None of them are talking about the video interception,” Wolford said.

     “Really?” Judy asked, “They’ve gotta be talking about it _somewhere_.”

     “I’ve searched every Zootopia-based news source online,” Wolford said, “And there is absolutely no coverage of it.”

     “What?” Nick asked, “Everyone saw it, why aren’t they talking about it?”

     “I was thinking that maybe…” Wolford said, “ _Somebody_ doesn’t _want_ people talking about it.”

     Judy raised an eyebrow. “Who would _that_ be?” she asked.

     “Beats me,” said Wolford, “Could be some politician, some network producer, though I don’t know why they wouldn’t want people talking about it.”

     “Maybe,” Nick said, “ _This_ will give us a hint.”

     Nick took a plastic bag out of his back pocket. He unzipped it and pulled out the note. He handed it to Wolford, who gently held it in his paws. He scanned it carefully with his eyes.

     “Wow,” he said, “There is some serious scrambling going on here. Lemme open something.”

     Wolford exited the internet browser and clicked an icon. A glossy program opened. It had a text box with symboled buttons below it.

     “Lemme just enter this all real quick…” Wolford mumbled.

     He quickly typed in the scrambled message. He clicked on a small box with a spiral on it. The letters rearranged. He clicked on it many more times, the three of them watching the letters in front of them cycle again and again, until suddenly, a group of cohesive words formed in front of them.

_‘_ **_Vicky ha’s, yay to zebra’s strip_ ** _’_

     The three exchanged looks. Wolford slowly rested his chin in his paw.

     “Maybe...the mammal’s name is Vicky?” he said, “The rest doesn’t make a lot of sense though.”

     “Maybe we’re doing this wrong,” Judy said, “Maybe this is more complicated than we think.”

     “Or,” said Nick, “Maybe it’s more _simple_. Is there a function on here that lets you move letters up and down numerically?”

     “What?’ Judy asked.

     “I know what you mean,” Wolford said, “There _is_ a reassignment engine in this. Let me just...”

     Wolford clicked on a drop-down menu with many boxes. He rapidly began to fill them in, his fingers flying across the keyboard. Suddenly, he stopped and looked at Nick.

     “Up or down?” he asked.

     “Try up,” Nick said.

     The drop-down menu disappeared, and two arrows now sat next to the textbox. Wolford pressed the left button, and the letters went backwards one unit in the alphabet.

     “...Nope,” Wolford said, “Keep going?”

     “Yeah,” Judy said, “Don’t stop until we tell you to.”

     Wolford began to quickly click through the different groupings. Gibberish phrase after gibberish phrase flickered on the screen. Suddenly, for a split second, a coherent message appeared on the screen, before disappearing into another sea of mismatched letters. The three of them cried out simultaneously.

     “Go back go back go back!” Nick and Judy shouted.

     “I saw it, I saw it!” Wolford said defensively. “Let me bring it back to 13--”

     He went back a few cycles until the message displayed itself on the screen. Nick and Judy felt a chill go up their spine as they read. Wolford slowly leaned away from the screen.

     ‘ **_If you’re smart, you’ll drop the case_ ** ’

     Nick let out a slow gust of air. Judy slowly raised a paw to her mouth. Wolford lowered his glasses and looked back at them.

     “...Well…” he said, “...There’s our message…”

     “This is a threat,” Judy said. “Whoever this is doesn’t want us tracking them.”

     “Some nerve they’ve got,” said Nick. “Still doesn’t tell us who it is, though.”

     Nick slumped down in his chair, his brow furrowed in thought. Judy let out a sigh.

     “Well, let’s think,” she said, “Who _could_ it be?”

     “Who would leave a message like that in _code_?” asked Nick, “Why don't they want us reading it?”

     “Maybe they _do,_ ” said Judy. “Whoever this was _knew_ that we would be able to figure it out, it’s directed at _us._ ”

     “Maybe it’s not just one mammal,” Wolford said. “Maybe it’s a group of mammals, a team…”

     “Wait,” Judy said, “We still haven’t gone over the video. Wasn’t there something in that?”

     “Yes!” said Nick. “Wolford, do you have it?”

     “Yeah,” he said, “Lemme pull it up.”

     Wolford pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned it on. He entered an extensive passcode and it unlocked. He began to browse through his camera roll until he came upon the video.

     “Here it is,” he said, raising his phone above the desk.

     Judy and Nick leaned in as Wolford turned up the volume.

* * *

     A shaky camera was pointed at a computer screen, the white Bauta mask flickering at the center. A paw reached up and pulled it off, revealing the tiger underneath. A voice was trembling from across the room.

_“Oh my god...oh my god, oh my god oh my god oh my god_ \--”

_“Hey, Felicity?”_ another voice asked. _“What’s wrong? What’s going on?”_

_“Fangmyer,”_ Bogo’s voice crackled, _“I need coordinates, now. Do you copy?”_

     There was a fumbling sound, then the sound of a button being pressed.

_“Sir,”_ Wolford’s voice said from behind the camera, _“All computers are unresponsive, we’re just receiving the feed and nothing else.”_

     Wolford’s paws pounded on the keys of the keyboard, but to no avail. The video feed remained flickering on the monitor, blending with the sound of someone mumbling rapidly offscreen.

_“Wolford, what are you doing down there?”_ Bogo asked, _“Where’s Fangmyer?”_

     The camera panned away from the computer to the other side of the room. Fangmyer sat in a corner of the room, her eyes glued to the monitor. Her hands were over her ears and she was rocking back and forth, her lips moving rapidly. Delgato was slowly approaching her from behind, a paw outstretched.

_“She’s seems to be having a panic attack, sir,”_ said Wolford, _“Delgato’s tending to her as we speak.”_

_“What?”_ Bogo’s voice crackled, _“What happened?”_

     Fangmyer slowly brought her arms into her stomach. _“No no no no no no no no no no no--”_ she began to mumble.

     Delgato placed a paw on her shoulder, but didn’t receive a response. He kneeled down next to her, trying to get her attention.

_“We don’t know,”_ Wolford stammered, _“She saw the kid and then--”_

     “ _I’m being watched_ ,” the young tiger said. The camera panned back to the monitor. “ _Not just by you, but by someone else. I need you all to listen closely before I’m cut off.''_

_“Felicity,”_ Delgato said offscreen, _“What is it? What’s the matter?”_

_“No, Dylan, no, Dylan, oh my god what are you doing--”_

_“Felicity? Can you hear me?”_

     “ _Sometimes taking over pairing them happens every making..._ ”

_“He’s reading a code,”_ Wolford said, _“Be quiet!”_

     “ _Back even forward over really evening ignore tell sorry talk of offer light acquire torrent evil..._ ”

_“Oh my god, what are you doing, what are you DOING Dylan?!”_

     The camera panned back to the corner of the room for a brief moment. Fangmyer was covering her face with trembling hands, tears streaming down her cheeks. Delgato was wrapped around her shoulders, trying to steady her rocking. Wolford shushed them.

_“I’m trying!”_ Delgato said.

     “ _Marking having after rocking evening because arson clever kill_ ”

_“I can’t pull her out of it, she’s too wrapped up--”_

_“Better Lives Organization._ _Better Lives Organization_ . ”

     Fangmyer’s cries suddenly burst into a fit of mangled screams. Fangmyer was trying to escape from Delgato’s grip, kicking and screaming at the top of her lungs. Delgato quickly pushed the desk chair to the side and tightly wrapped his arms around her abdomen, keeping her in place. Fangmyer fell forward onto the desk, taking Delgato with her. She grabbed tightly onto the sides of the monitor.

_“Don’t, Dylan!”_ she sobbed, _“Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t do it…”_

     Her voice gave way to tears as Delgato slowly raised her from the table. He braced his arms under her shoulders and put his paws behind her head, locking her in place. She cried weakly.

     The camera turned back to the computer to see the pistol in Dylan’s mouth.

**_BANG_ **

     The camera jolted and a scream pierced the air. Fangmyer’s wailing filled the room as blood pooled in Dylan’s mouth. The camera panned back over to Fangmyer slumped to her knees, still held by Delgato. Delgato slowly let go of her and let her collapse to the ground. He kneeled next to her shuddering body on the floor and began to rub her back. He spoke to her in a soft, quiet voice. She half-consciously nodded her head through her trembling paws. Delgato looked up to the camera.

_“She says that that was her brother,”_ he said. _“Dylan.”_

     A cry crackled through the speakers of the computer and ended sharply. Suddenly, all the monitors turned off.

_“Where is he?”_ asked Wolford.

     Delgato leaned down to the whimpering Fangmyer.

_“Is he at your place?”_ he asked gently.

     Fangmyer shook her head and shakily muttered something back. Delgato looked back up.

_“She says he’s with her parents,”_ he said, _“At their house.”_

_“Wolford,”_ Bogo growled through the radio, _“I need those computers fixed_ _right no_ _\--”_

     The video ended.

* * *

     Judy and Nick stared at the phone, agape. Wolford slowly placed it back on the desk. He sighed.

     “Sorry I didn’t get that beginning part,” he said, “There’s no other footage of it online. I mostly managed to get what he was saying, though.”

     “Did Fangmyer say anything else?” Judy asked, “About the code or...or anything?”

     “Not much,” said Wolford, “Delgato took her to the hospital a couple minutes later.”

     “She knows something that we don’t,” Nick said, “We’re definitely gonna have to talk to her.”

     “I don’t know about that,” said Wolford, “She was a complete wreck when she left, I can’t imagine the state that she’s in now.”

     Nick and Judy gave a slow look to each other. Wolford scrubbed backwards through the video.

     “Let’s take a look at this code,” he said.

     He pressed play. Dylan’s voice filtered through the speakers.

     “ _Sometimes taking over pairing them happens every making--”_

     Wolford paused it. He opened a new document on his computer and began to type.

     “Sometimes taking over…” he repeated, “...pairing them happens every making…”

     The words appeared on the screen in front of them. The three of them looked at the phrase long and hard, trying to find a pattern. The cursor blinked at them.

     “This can’t be scrambled,” Wolford said, “It’s too formulated.”

     “Okay,” Judy said, “Try moving the words around.”

     Wolford gave her a quizzical look. “What?”

     “I don’t know,” Judy said, “Format it differently, maybe something will appear.”

     Wolford shrugged. He began to move the words about the screen. They formed different lines and shapes. Each one was surveyed thoroughly before thrown away. Judy huffed to herself.

     “I don’t know,” she said, “Maybe I was wrong.”

     “Hold on,” Nick said, “Put them in a column.”

     Wolford lined the words on top of each other. The three of them stared at the column on the screen. Suddenly, a pattern appeared. They gasped.

_Sometimes_

_Taking_

_Over_

_Pairing_

_Them_

_Happens_

_Every_

_Making_

     “Delete everything except the first letters!” Judy said.

     Wolford cleared the space, leaving a line of letters, spelling out a message.

_S_

_T_

_O_

_P_

_T_

_H_

_E_

_M_

     “Oh my god…” Nick muttered.

     “Keep going,” Judy said, “What’s next?”

     Wolford raised his phone and pressed play once more.

_“Back even forward over really evening ignore tell sorry talk of offer light acquire torrent evil--”_

     “Jesus,” Wolford mumbled, quickly running his fingers across the keys. He lined them up below the first row and deleted all of the excess letters.

_B_

_E_

_F_

_O_

_R_

_E_

_I_

_T_

_S_

_T_

_O_

_O_

_L_

_A_

_T_

_E_

     “Christ, get on with it, kid,” said Nick, brushing his paw through the fur on the back of his neck.

     Wolford skipped ahead a few more seconds in the video. He stopped it and listened. He quickly began to type in sequence with the audio.

_“Marking having after rocking evening because arson clever kill--”_

_M_

_H_

_A_

_R_

_E_

_B_

_A_

_C_

_K_

     “Oh my god,” Nick said, “He’s a whistleblower.”

     “What’s ‘M H’?” Judy asked.

     “ ‘M H’, ‘M H’...” Nick muttered to himself, “...Night Howlers?”

     “No,” said Judy, “Cause then it’d be ‘N H’, wouldn’t it?”

     “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Nick said, “Keep going, Wolford.”

     Wolford pressed play. The three listened.

_“Better Lives Organization._ _Better Lives Organization_ ”

     Wolford typed the words and aligned them like the others. He erased the unnecessary letters.

_B_

_L_

_O_

     They stared at them long and hard. Wolford suddenly straightened up.

     “Wait,” he said, “That’s a name.”

     Nick raised an eyebrow. “ _Blo?_ ” he asked incredulously.

     “No,” said Wolford, “Better Lives Organization. That sounds like a name, right?”

     “Have you heard of them before?” Judy asked.

     “No,” Wolford said “First time.”

     “I think we might have our lead,” Nick said. “Look them up.”

     Wolford opened his internet browser and pulled up Zoogle. He typed the name into the box and hit ‘enter’. A gray pinwheel spun on the screen.

     They waited.

     And waited.

     And waited.

     Wolford slumped back in his chair with a sigh. Nick looked at him.

     “Is it the internet connection?” he asked.

     “No,” Wolford said, “It’s just...taking a really long time to look.”

     Suddenly, a message popped up on the screen. The three leaned in, and Judy read it aloud.

     “No matches were found for your search ‘Better Lives Organization’. Try a different spelling or shortening your search phrase.”

     “Are you kidding me?” Nick asked, “That’s bullshit.”

     “Let me try it as an anagram,” Wolford said, “Maybe that’ll give us what we’re looking for.”

     Wolford emptied the search box and typed in ‘BLO’. The pinwheel spun back into motion, and suddenly, multiple results popped up. Wolford cleared his throat and read.

     “Beavley’s Law Office,” he read, “Boarison’s Legume Orders, Bears Love Oranges…”

     “I thought they were more into _pears,_ personally,” Nick muttered.

     “Yeah, I’m not seeing anything,” Wolford said. “I don’t think it exists.”

     “It _has_ to,” Judy said, “They signed the message with it, see?”

     Judy held the paper in front of them. Beneath the imprint of the moth, there was a monogram: BLO. Nick took the note from her and looked it over.

     “Okay,” he said slowly, “So here’s what we know so far. There’s something called the _Better Lives Organization,_ and it is somehow attached to Dylan Fangmyer’s suicide. Dylan left a message telling us to stop ‘them’ before it’s too late, and that ‘M H’ is back. Who or what ‘M H’ could be, we don’t know.”

     “Fangmyer seems to know a bit about the Organization,” said Judy, “Or at least Dylan’s involvement in it before he died. Meanwhile, his body, along with his parents, are currently missing.”

     Nick and Judy stared at each other, thinking. Wolford swiveled around in his chair to face them.

     “Well,” he said, “It’s your call, detectives. What’s our next step?”

     Judy sighed. She looked at Wolford, then back to Nick.

     “I think we should pay Felicity a little visit,” she said. “Let’s see what she knows.”


	4. 01000110/01101111/01110101/01110010

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> >admitted at 3:30 this afternoon, showed signs of hemorrhagic stroke. Sent to Northwest Operation room for neurosurgery under leadership of Dr. Julian Pantera

    The hospital was bumbling with activity. Doctors were rushing back and forth with mammals on stretchers, shouting orders at each other. There had just been a large collision on the Northbound Highway near Sahara Square, and the staff were now up to their necks in patients. Nick and Judy inched past the commotion and walked up to the reception desk.

     “Hey there,” Nick said to the doe behind the table, “Detective Nick Wilde, this is my partner, Detective Hopps. We were wondering if we would be able to see a patient real quick, ask them a couple questions about a case?”

     The doe slowly looked up from the nail file in her hooves, her jaw hanging loosely open. She blinked at him with disinterest.

     “Well, visiting hours for today are closed,” she droned, looking back down at her hooves as the filing resumed, “You’ll have to come back tomorrow. Hours open at 10 a. m.--”

     “This is very important,” Judy said, “This mammal might have some very useful information in relation to a case that we’re trying to crack. Do you think we could sneak in just for a minute?”

     The doe stopped filing and slowly looked up at Judy. She let out a long sigh.

     “Well,” she said, “I _guess_ I can make an exception…”

     Nick forced a smile. “Spectacular, darlin’,” he said.

     The receptionist gave him a glare as cold as steel.

     “It’s _Janice_ ,” she grumbled.

     “Well, _Janice_ ,” Judy said, shooting a look at Nick, “Do you think you could help us out?”

     Janice sighed. “What’s the patient’s name?” she asked.

     “Fangmyer,” said Judy, “Felicity M. Fangmyer. Came in at about 1:00 this afternoon?”

     Janice lazily tossed her file to the side and began to type. Judy and Nick listened to the obnoxious clacking from the keyboard mixed with the metronome of the clock ticking at the corner of her desk. She slid her mouse across the pad and clicked.

     “Oh, yeah,” she said, “Fangmyer. Felicia, you said?”

     “Felicity,” Nick said, “With a ‘Y’.”

     “ _Felicity,_ yeah...” the receptionist drawled, “...And you said that...she came here at _1:00_ this afternoon?”

     “Yes,” said Judy, “That’s her.”

     “I’m not so sure about that,” Janice yawned. “Says here that she wasn’t admitted until _3:30_.”

     Nick and Judy exchanged looks.

     “That can’t be right,” said Judy, “She left the station at 1:00.”

     “Well,” Janice said, “It says here that she didn’t show up ‘til 3:30. Maybe she got lunch or somethin’.”

     “No,” Judy said, “There’s no--she had to have come right over.”

     “Well, I don’t know what to tell you,” said Janice, “I’m just reading what’s here in front of me. Are you sure we’re talking about the same mammal?”

     “We have to be,” Judy said, “Felicity M. Fangmyer?”

     “Uh...yeah,” she said. “What did she come in for?”

     “She had a panic attack,” Nick said, “So she should be in the psych ward, I’m guessing. Trauma treatment?”

     “Okay,” said Janice, leaning back in her chair, “We are _definitely_ talking about two different mammals, because this one is due for neurosurgery in five minutes.”

     Judy’s ears perked. “What?” she asked, “Why?”

     “Well, according to her record,” the doe said, “She was immediately taken to the Northern wing for stroke treatment, a blood vessel had burst in her neck.”

     “What?” Nick asked, “When did that happen?!”

    “Calm _down_ , sir,” the doe said, holding up a hoof, “I’m only reading what’s in front of me.”

     “This can’t be her,” Judy said to Nick. She looked back at Janice. “Are there any other Fangmyers admitted?”

     “She seems to be the only one on our system…” she said, scrolling with the mouse. “Lemme pull up a picture.”

     She typed something in and began to skate her mouse across the pad. Suddenly, she clicked on something and turned the monitor around.

     “Is this her?”

     It was Fangmyer’s ZPD ID picture. She was wearing her blue uniform with the golden tassel on her shoulder, minutes after graduating from the Zootopia Training Academy. She stared at Nick and Judy confidently through the screen.

     “Yes!” Judy said, “That’s her!”

     “Well, then,” said the receptionist, “She’s in neurosurgery. Gonna be kinda hard to visit her _now_.”

     “Wait,” Nick said, scratching his chin, “Why does she need neurosurgery if it’s a blood vessel in her _neck_ that’s the problem?”

     “Don’t ask me,” the receptionist said, “I’m not a doctor, I just answer the phone.”

     “And why did she arrive two and a half hours after she left?” Judy asked. “Where did she _go_ in that block of time?”

     “...Wait,” the doe slowly said, “She didn’t.”

     Nick and Judy turned to her, eyes wide.

     “She _didn’t_?”

     “...No,” said Janice, straightening up in her chair. “Now that I got her picture in front of me...I think I saw her walk in with someone.”

     Judy leaned forward onto the desk. “Was it a big lion?” she asked, “Really puffy mane?”

     “Yeah!” The doe said, snapping her fingers, “Another officer. I checked her in and a doctor came and got her. That was at...I don’t know...but it _definitely_ wasn’t 3:30.”

     “Did she look like she was having a stroke?” Nick asked, “Any confusion or numbness?”

     “Definitely not,” she answered, “She was shaking and crying like crazy, like she was having--”

     “--A panic attack!” Nick blurted out, “See?!”

      “...That’s so weird,” said the doe, “I wonder why her record is so screwed up?”

     “Maybe hers and someone else’s got switched around,” Judy said, “Is there any way to check that?”

     “Yeah,” she said, swallowing, “Lemme see what I can do.”

     Janice sat up in her chair and began to type rapidly. Her hooves surged across the keyboard, now with purpose and energy. She suddenly stopped, raised her fingers from the keys, and leaned in towards the screen with a squint.

     “What?” Judy asked, “What is it?”

     “No matching records,” she read from the screen, “I entered the details that we knew, you know, time and symptoms and all that, and nothing popped up. Her record isn’t here.”

     “But she still has one in the system,” Nick stammered, “Right?”

     “Yeah,” Janice sighed, “But it’s almost like someone made it up.”

     A lightbulb went off. The three of them looked at each other, agape.

     “Wait, what?” Janice scoffed, “Why would they--”

     “Where is she right now?” Judy asked, “Can you find that out?”

     “Oh, Christ,” Janice moaned, “I’d have to call somebody in security to find that out--”

     “Do it!” Judy shouted, “Quickly!”

      Janice quickly picked up the phone on her desk and pressed one of the programmable speed-dial buttons. After a moment, someone picked up.

     “Hey, uh, Steve?” Janice said, “This is Janice at reception. Can you take a look at the map and confirm a patient’s location for me?”

     While she waited, Janice drew a small box on her wrist and mouthed ‘in wristband’ to Judy and Nick. They nodded. Suddenly, Janice’s ears twitched.

     “...Name?” she asked. “Felicita--no, Felicity M. Fangmyer...with a Y.”

      She grimaced to herself. Nick gave her a supportive thumbs-up. Judy gulped. Suddenly, a muffled voice spoke in Janice’s ear.

     “...Northwest, you said?” she asked. “...Okay, thank you so much, Steve.”

     She slammed the phone down and leaned towards Nick and Judy.

     “The record’s telling the truth,” Janice said, “She’s in the Northwest Operating room with Doctor Pantera as we speak.”

     Judy quickly looked up at Nick over her shoulder. He stared at her, his brow furrowed in thought. Judy whirled back around to face Janice.

     “Which way?” she demanded.

* * *

     Fangmyer’s semi-conscious body laid flat on the operating table, a smock draped over her. A group of mammals in scrubs and surgical masks surrounded her, carefully pulling gloves over their fingers. They were busy organizing a tray full of various surgical instruments. Suddenly, the door gently swung open.

     A tall black panther with slicked-back fur walked in, scrubs and mask draped over his arm. He looked over the crowd of mammals before him. He cleared his throat.

     “I see that we’re all here,” he said, “So, let’s begin. What’s the patient’s status?”

     “According to the monitor,” a young otter piped up, “She’s been on anaesthetics for the past five minutes. Blood pressure is normal, but brain activity is declining, fast.”

     “Thank you,” Dr. Pantera said. “Now, before we begin the simulation, let me remind you of a few things. Treat this as you would a real operation. You will be graded as such. Am I understood?”

     A chorus of _‘Yes Doctor’_ s answered him.

     “Incisions will be made on the body, as if you would make on a real one,” said Pantera, “The skin has been manufactured to be cut with surgical instruments, and artificial organs are inside. Treat them as you would if they were real. Your job is to assess the problem, find a solution, and keep the patient alive. Is that clear?”

     “Yes, Doctor.”

     “Good,” Pantera said, nodding. “Are there any questions?”

     A deer near the back raised his hoof. The doctor nodded.

     “Uh, sir? Where are the judges?”

     The doctor stared at him long and hard. He took a deep breath.

     “Mr. Buckley,” he said plainly, “You might want to get your eyes checked.”

     “You mean... _you’re_ the judge?”

     “If you were _prepared_ \--” Pantera interrupted, “You would have _known_ that.”

     The deer slowly lowered his head in shame.

     “You also might not have shown up _late_ ,” Pantera continued. “Don’t think the staff didn’t notify me of _that_ , Mr. Buckley.”

     “Actually, sir--” the otter intervened, “We were _all_ a little late getting into the room. The staff wouldn’t let us in until the test subject had been completely set up.”

     Pantera slowly turned his head and glared at her. He let out a gust of air.

     “Well,” he said, “My apologies on their behalf. Now, are there any more questions or burning comments anyone would like to add?”

     The room stared at him with frightened eyes. After a brief moment, he smiled.

     “Good,” he said. “Let’s begin.”

     Pantera walked forward, pulling his arms through the sleeves of his scrubs. The students cleared a path for him as he sauntered towards the table. He put on his mask.

     “Alright,” he said, “Who would like to make the first incision.”

     The otter stepped forward. “I’ll do it,” she said.

     “Thank you, Ms. Otterbein,” Pantera said, “Where shall we make it?”

     “Well,” she said, “The patient is suffering from a hemorrhagic stroke, caused by a burst blood vessel in the neck, so first we need to locate the rupture.”

     “Very good,” he said, putting on his gloves. “How would we do that?”

     “Well first,” she said, “We trace around the neck--”

     The doors burst open. An older ram with half-moon glasses walked in the doorway, wearing a nicely starched lab coat. His face was laced with fury.

     “There you are,” he panted, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

     Pantera sighed. “Students,” he said, “I’d like you to meet the head of Psychiatry, Dr. Otto Ramsley.”

     “What the hell are you doing with my patient?” he demanded, marching into the room, “Why is she on an operating table?”

     “Because,” said Pantera, calmly removing his mask, “She is suffering from a hemorrhagic stroke due to a ruptured blood vessel in the neck--”

     “Since when?” Ramsley asked, “For the past hour she’s been recovering from an anxiety-induced panic attack in Koalaski Hall, if she had a stroke, I damn sure would’ve noticed!”

     The room began to fill with uncertain murmurs. Otterbein looked up at Pantera.

     “Sir?” she asked, “What’s...what’s going on?”

     “Just a simple misunderstanding,” he said, “Nothing to worry about.”

     “Damn right there’s a misunderstanding,” Ramsley shouted, “You stole my patient!”

     “Please relax, Doctor,” Pantera said calmly, “There’s no need to cause a scene.”

     “Wh--cause a scene?!” he interjected. “Look, I wasn’t even thinking about having to leave the psych ward to come all the way down here, alright? All I was gonna do was call you to ask who gave you authorization to my patient’s record. Until I realized, _she had gone  completely MISSING!_ ”

     The room rose into a sudden hubbub. All eyes were glued to Pantera, waiting for a reaction. He stared boldly at Ramsley.

     “Who gave you authorization?” Ramsley asked, “Who gave you access to change her record, huh?”

     Pantera remained silent, calmly looking into Ramsley’s eyes. There was a long pause. Suddenly, Ramsley slowly began to nod his head.

     “Alright,” he said, “You know what? Let’s call security up here. Then, we can all have one nice, big chat together to figure out what the hell is going on.”

     Ramsley marched towards a large red button embedded in the wall. Pantera reached under his scrubs and into his pocket.

     “I believe that won’t be necessary, doctor.”

**_BANG_ **

     A spot of red burst from the back of Ramsley’s head. He collapsed head-first against the wall, and his lifeless body began to slide diagonally towards the floor. He landed hard on his side and slowly rolled onto his back. His forehead was matted with blood, a trail of red smeared across the white wall where he fell.

     Pantera held the smoking gun outstretched, still pointed where Ramsley’s skull had been moments before. The medical students behind him were screaming and shouting, huddled against the wall. He took a deep breath. He quietly turned around and faced the crowd of students. He raised the gun at them, causing another bout of terrified screams.

**_“QUIET.”_ **

     The room immediately fell into silence. Pantera let out a slow and controlled sigh.

     “From this moment onwards,” he said, “You are to do as you are told. Am I understood?”

* * *

     Nick and Judy burst through a group of doctors and sprinted down the hallway. They took a hard left and hurdled a mop bucket sprawled in the middle of the floor. A sudden crowd of doctors spilled out from one of the rooms.

     “ZPD!” Judy shouted, “Clear a path!”

     The doctors jumped back just in time for Judy and Nick to roar past them, papers in their arms getting caught in the wind. Nick darted his eyes to Judy, panting.

     “Which way?!” he shouted.

     Judy quickly wiped her nose. “I think it’s the next right!” she said, “It should be right there!”

     Judy and Nick skidded around the corner, Nick grabbing onto the edge of Judy’s uniform to keep from slamming into the wall. They came to a stop in front of two large doors in front of them.

     “Pediatrics?!” Judy shouted. “Where’s the Northwest Operating Room?!”

     “Are you sure we went the right way?” Nick asked, placing his paws on his knees.

     Judy whirled around to face him. “Yes!” she said, “It was just like she said, down the hall, take the third left, then the last right! It should be _right here!_ ”

     “Maybe Janice was able to contact them,” Nick panted, “Maybe they stopped the operation.”

     “But what if they didn’t?!” Judy cried. “Fangmyer could be getting cut open _right now!_ ”

     Nick looked to his left. He quickly straightened up.

     “Here,” he said, “A map.”

     They dashed over to the plaque nailed into the wall. They navigated the different colored floors and rooms with their fingers until they both landed at a yellow square labeled ‘NW Op Rm’.

     “There it is!” Judy said, “See?! It should be right here!”

     Nick quickly scanned the rest of the map. Suddenly, his ears flattened.

     “Oh no.”

     “ _What_?”

     “I think it’s up a couple levels, Jude,” he said, “See?”

     He pointed down the map to a blue square labeled ‘Ped. Recep’. Judy sighed.

     “Alright,” she said, “Let’s go!”

     Judy dashed towards the EXIT sign to their right. Nick pointed the other way down the hall.

     “Uh, Carrots?!” he called, “Elevators are _this_ way!”

     “Are you crazy?!” Judy shouted, “Gonna take too long! C’mon! We’re taking the stairs!”

* * *

     Buckley stood over Fangmyer’s freshly exposed brain, her scalp and shards of her skull placed on the tray next to him. His hands shakily held a scalpel and tweezers. The steady beeps of the heart monitor broke the tense silence that repeatedly settled in the room. Pantera took a step closer to him.

     “Well,” Pantera said, “You’ve gone this far. What seems to be the problem?”

     Buckley took a slow, shaky breath. He swallowed hard.

     “I--” he choked, “--I c--I can’t do it.”

     There was a long silence. Buckley’s eyes darted around the room.

     “What?”

     “This is,” Buckley stammered, “This is wrong. I-I’m not doing this.”

     Pantera let out a long sigh. He slowly walked up next to Buckley and leaned in towards his ear.

     “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, “But that’s unacceptable, Buckley.”

     A shot pierced the air. Buckley gasped as his eyes suddenly went glassy. He slowly crumpled to the ground, clutching his side. Blood slowly began to pool around his hooves as he lay in a ball on his side, gasping for air. A wave of students rushed to him. Pantera raised his gun.

     “If you touch him,” he snarled, “You’ll be next.”

     The students slowly backed away from the whimpering Buckley. Pantera glared at them.

     “Next time I will not be so merciful,” he growled.

     Pantera slowly scanned his eyes across the room. He looked every mammal in the eyes, reading their faces. Suddenly, he cleared his throat.

     “Ms. Otterbein,” he said, “Earlier you seemed quite enthusiastic...why don’t _you_ have a go?”

     All eyes turned to the otter cowering in the back of the room. She stared at Pantera, wide-eyed.

    “M--Me, Sir?” she stuttered.

     “Well,” said Pantera, “Unless you see any _other_ Ms. Otterbeins in the room, why don’t you come on up?”

     Otterbein slowly stood up and trudged her way through the sea of students towards the operating table. She raised her mask over her mouth and grabbed the tweezers from the floor. She slowly stood up and picked up a pair of scissors from the tray.

     “Very good,” Pantera said. “Now, please...continue.”

     Otterbein let out a slow gust of air. She darted her eyes towards Pantera, over her shoulder.

     “What--What do you want me to _do?_ ”

     “Well,” Pantera said, “I’ll let you have a choice. Take your pick.”

     There was a long silence. Otterbein gulped.

     “Of--” she stammered, “Of _what,_ sir?”

     “Well, of the brain,” Pantera stated matter-of-factly, “Pick a section to remove.”

     “You--you want me to remove a part of her brain--”

     “Ms. Otterbein, how much more blatant must I be?” Pantera growled, “Pick a part of the subject’s brain and _remove_ it.”

     Otterbein felt her paws beginning to tremble. She swallowed past the lump in her throat.

     “H-How do I do that?” she choked.

     “By any means necessary,” Pantera said, “It doesn’t matter. Just simply remove part of the brain. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

     “Y-yes sir,” Otterbein said, “Y-you want me to remove a section from the patient’s brain--”

     “Good,” Pantera said. “Now, _do it._ ”

     Otterbein’s chest began to heave. She felt her eyes getting lost in the swirls and spirals in Fangmyer’s brain, watching them pulsate with the blood within them. Her paws were grasping tightly onto the instruments in her hands. She clamped her eyes shut.

     “...N-no,” she said.

     “What was that?”

     “... _N-no._ ”

     A tense silence fell over the crowd. Otterbein kept her eyes shut. Suddenly, she felt the cold metal of the barrel press up against the side of her head. Her heart began to pound. She heard the hammer cock back. A sob escaped from her throat.

**_BANG_ **

     Otterbein tensed. She held her breath.

     She slowly opened her eyes.

     Fangmyer was still on the table before her. The students were still around her. She was standing with the tweezers and scissors in her paws, just as she had been moments before.

     She felt the gun detach from her head.

     She slowly looked up at Pantera above her. His eyes were wide. He slowly reached a paw to the back of his neck and grabbed onto something. He gave a yank, causing his neck to jerk. He slowly pulled a tranquilizer dart from behind his head. The two of them stared at it.

**_BANG_ **

     Pantera’s arm jolted. He twisted his forearm, revealing another dart lodged in his arm. His eyes began to roll into the back of his head…

     Pantera’s legs turned to gelatin as he crumpled to the floor. The students looked to the doorway to see Judy with her dart gun, aimed straight at Pantera on the floor. She was breathing heavily. The sounds of heavy footsteps echoed in the hall behind her.

     “St...stop right there!” An exhuasted voice shouted.

     Nick slowly stumbled into the doorway. He stuck out a paw and leaned against the wall.

     “...ZPD…” he rasped, “...you...you have th’ right to remain...oh my god…”

     Nick slowly lowered himself to the ground and sprawled on his back. Security guards flooded into the room, surrounding Pantera and rushing to Buckley. Nick coughed on the floor.

     “I...need a minute…” he panted.


	5. 01000110/01101001/01110110/01100101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *nd s* h* dr*wn*d

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://judys-carrot-pen.tumblr.com/post/148453509717/chapter-5-is-up

     Judy and Nick stood outside the interrogation room, anxiously watching Pantera through the window. His paws were lightly rested on the table, and he was calmly staring at the wall. He was still wearing his uniform. 

     Bogo approached from behind and stood over their shoulders, looking into the room. He sighed.

     “Would someone like to tell me what’s going on?” He asked.

     “Dr. Julian Pantera,” Judy said, “A neurosurgeon at Zootopia Medicine and Emergency Response. Altered Fangmyer’s medical record, managed to get her into an operation room,  convinced a group of medical students from University of Northern Zootopia that she was an operation dummy. Told them that they were being tested on their performance of various tasks involving incisions.”

     “And?”

     “Dr. Otto Ramsley learned that his patient was missing, found Fangmyer in the Operating room, and was shot dead by Pantera.”

     “That’s quite unfortunate,” said Bogo, “Why did Pantera do that?”

     “Well,” Nick said, “We’re about to find out.”

     “Good,” Bogo said, “That’ll save me having to make up something to keep the press busy.”

     The door unlocked. Nick and Judy put in their earpieces and sauntered into the interrogation room. They took a seat across from Pantera as the door slowly clicked closed behind them.

     “Dr. Pantera,” Nick sang, “Nice of you to join us. Glad to see that those sedatives have worn off.”

     Pantera blinked at him. “Not entirely,” he muttered.

     “Well, you’re conscious,” Nick said, “So that’s a start.”

_      “This is a sound check,”  _ Snarlov’s voice whispered into Judy and Nick’s ear.  _ “Detective Hopps, if you can hear this, give us the signal.” _

     Judy sniffled and raised her sleeve. She gave her nose a quick wipe.

_      “Hopps is clear,”  _ Snarlov said,  _ “Wilde, your turn.” _

     Nick adjusted his collar. “Detective Wilde,” he said, “Detective Hopps is my partner.”

_      “Good, we’re all set.” _

     “Pleasure,” Pantera grumbled. “You two seem a little tired...is everything alright?”

     Judy forced a smile. “It’s been a long day,” she said through her teeth.

     “Hm,” said Pantera, “My apologies.”

     “Now, Doctor,” Nick interrupted, “Can you tell us why you were deliberately altering certain patient’s records?”

     Pantera gave him a blank look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

     “Really?” Nick asked, “Cause we were just talking with some of your students, and uh, they said that you changed Fangmyer’s medical details to get her into the Northwest Operation Room...is that true?”

     “Ms. Fangmyer was brought into the operation room,” Pantera said, “Because she was suffering from a hemorrhagic stroke due to a burst blood vessel in her neck.”

     “Then why was she taken to neurosurgery?” Judy asked. “If you had really been treating her for a hemorrhagic stroke, you would want to do surgery on her neck.”

     Pantera gave Judy a smoldering look. He remained silent. Snarlov’s voice crackled in their ear.

_      “Ask what the students were doing there.” _

     “Also,” Nick said, “I was wondering why you had all those med students in the room with you. Was there a specific reason, or were they just hanging out in an operation room while you fiddled away at someone’s brain?”

     “They were observing the procedure,” Pantera said calmly.

     “In all due respect,” said Nick, “I think we can call it a little more than  _ that. _ According to multiple eyewitness accounts, you were forcing them to participate without proper guidance.”

     “The students were observing the procedure,” Pantera repeated.

     Judy blinked. “So, you’ll just deny the fact that multiple mammals have provided contrary information?” she asked.

     “The students were observing the procedure.”

     Judy sighed and leaned back in her chair. Snarlov crackled through the earbuds.

_      “C’mon, guys,”  _ he said,  _ “Get him to talk.” _

     “Sorry, don’t think I quite got that,” Nick said, “The students were doing  _ what  _ again?”

     “The students were observing the procedure--”

_      “Observing the procedure,  _ thank you,” said Nick.

_      “As in  _ _ spill _ _ , smartass,”  _ Snarlov growled,  _ “Get some information out of him _ . _ ” _

     “I have a question,” Judy said, “Just curious. Have you ever heard of something called the ‘Better Lives Organization’?”

     Pantera slowly sat up in his chair. He swallowed and slowly turned towards Judy. He glared at her.

     “No,” he said calmly.

     “Okay, alright...” Nick said, “Now uh, who are they, exactly?”

     “I don’t know,” Pantera said.

     Nick sighed. “So let me make this clear,” he said, clasping his paws together. “You’ve never heard of this group called the Better Living Organization--”

     “Better  _ Lives  _ Organization.”

     Judy’s ears perked up. Pantera stared over them, his jaw clamped shut. His paws had tightened their grip on each other. A smug smile appeared on Nick’s face, and he glanced at Judy and raised an eyebrow.

_      “Go further,”  _ Snarlov said,  _ “Find out what he knows.” _

     “I don’t think you’re being very honest with us, Julian,” Nick said, leaning forward on his elbows. “Why don’t you tell us what you know, and we’ll get out of your fur.”

     Pantera began to drum his fingers on the table. Judy looked at the silver ring on his right hand, a blue gem fit in the middle. She cleared her throat.

     “Is that turquoise?” she asked.

     Pantera stopped and turned his head to her. A hint of a smile appeared on his face. 

     “Yes,” he said, “From my fiancée.”

     “It’s very pretty,” she said.

     Pantera slowly framed the gem with his claws. “Thank you,” he said.

     He pressed the side of the ring.

     The ear buds in Nick and Judy’s ears suddenly erupted in a loud, high-pitched screech. Judy and Nick jumped from their seats. They quickly yanked the earpieces out of their ears and threw them on the table. Pantera chuckled.

     “That’s the pesky thing about those earpieces,” he said, “Short range electronic pulses tend to render them a bit useless.”

     Judy and Nick glared at Pantera. Judy instinctively palmed her dart gun at her side. Her feet were lightly touching the ground, ready to jump into action. Pantera scoffed.

     “Easy, Detective,” he said, “I can’t hurt  _ you. _ ”

     “Alright, let’s take it easy Pantera,” Nick snarled, “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

     Pantera slowly removed his ring and held it in his fingers. He smiled at it.

     “Have either of you ever taken any lessons in chemistry?” He asked.

     Nick and Judy looked at each other. They slowly shook their heads.

     “Well,” he said, “There’s a very common chemical--hydroflarin ultimetihyde--that’s extremely accessible. Found in many day to day objects, actually, such as fruit juice or vinegar.”

     Pantera began to unscrew the gem from the ring with his claws.

     “Completely harmless if consumed on its own,” he continued, “But when paired with another chemical named polyatopin heptate...a chemical found in sleeping pills, aneasthesia, and certain types of  _ tranquilizer darts _ …”

     Pantera lifted the ring to his mouth and tilted his head back, emptying the contents. He lowered his chin and wiped his lips.

     “The results are quite  _ disastrous _ .”

     The door burst open. Bogo, Snarlov, and Higgins dashed into the room and grabbed Pantera by the shoulders. He winced as they lifted him from his chair and dragged him out of the room. Nick and Judy jumped to their feet.

     “Stop!” Judy shouted, “He needs to get to a hospital!”

     Pantera suddenly caved in on himself and let out a mangled grunt. The officers let go  and let him collapse to the ground. He clutched tightly onto his stomach, moaning.

     “What’s going on here?” Bogo asked, “Hopps, Wilde, what happened?”

     “He’s poisoned himself!” Nick said, “Weren’t you guys watching? What took you so long?” 

     “They cut out when he triggered the EP,” Snarlov said, “We lost everything: audio, video...”

     Pantera began to tremble violently on the ground. He let out a couple hacking coughs, audibly tearing at his throat. His chest lurched, and he suddenly vomited up a pool of blood. Bogo quickly picked up his radio receiver.

     “All units,” he said, “Contact the med bay and get them down to Interrogation Room C immediately, we have a poisoned detainee--”

     Pantera’s chest hit the ground. Nick and Judy watched from the doorway as shuddering breaths rattled through his body. Higgins and Snarlov jumped down to his sides. They quickly flipped him over and raised his head from the floor. His eyes had rolled into the back of his head and his tongue was firmly pressed against the roof of his mouth. A gagging sound was escaping from his throat. Suddenly, his entire body went completely limp, and his paws hit the floor with a thud.

     Higgins quickly pressed his fingers against Pantera’s neck, then after a moment, again against his wrist. He lowered his ear to Pantera’s chest and listened. After a long moment, he slowly sat up and looked about the room.

     “...He’s dead,” he said.

* * *

     Judy laid across Nick’s lap, staring up at the loosely constructed hardwood ceiling of her apartment. They were in their pajamas, and they were finishing up the pizza that they had ordered earlier that evening. Nick placed his plate on the bedside table.

     “So,” he said, “Are you still up to showing me that groundbreaking new movie about the snow-killer?”

     Judy’s nose scrunched.

     “ _ What? _ ”

     “You know, the--the slasher flick you wanted me to watch. Snow-killer somethin’, right?”

     “No, there is no--where are you getting ‘snow-killer’?”

     “Is there...is there no snow-killer?”

     “No.”

     “Oh,” Nick said. “Well, whatever it’s called, do you still wanna watch it?”

     “No,” Judy sighed, “I think I’ve seen enough of that sort of stuff already for one day.”

     Nick snickered. “Good,” he said, “I was thinking the same thing.”

     Judy’s eyes traced the grooves in the ceiling, lost in thought. She brought her paws up to her eyes and pressed them firmly against her face with a groan.

     “What are we getting ourselves into, Nick?”

     Nick slowly started to stroke the tips of Judy’s ears. He took a deep breath.

     “I don’t know,” he said. “It’s pretty massive though, I think.”

     “It’s just--” said Judy, “What started out as a suicide investigation has become this...this huge…”

     “Clusterfuzz?”

     “Yeah.”

     Nick chuckled. He slowly laid himself down on his side, next to her.

     “I think we should sleep on it,” he said. “Give ourselves a couple hours to mull it over before we jump back in.”

     “I like that idea,” Judy said quietly.

     Judy listened to the slow sound of Nick’s breathing. She could feel the nice warm air radiating from his fur. It was so nice. So peaceful. She felt completely relaxed next to him. She felt  _ safe _ .

     A thought slowly developed in her head.

     Her heart began to pound in her chest, practically bursting through her shirt. Her breaths became more shallow and labored. She felt her fists ball up next to her. After a moment, she slowly opened her mouth to speak.

     “...Nick…”

     “...Yeah, Flopsy?”

     “Are...are we a  _ thing _ ?”

     There was a long silence. Judy could feel Nick’s heartbeat against her back. She felt his ribcage rise and fall.

     “What do you mean?”

     “I mean…” she said, “...I don’t know...earlier today, when Bogo asked us--”

     “Oh god, that was ridiculous.”

     “I know, obviously we weren’t--”

     “Yeah.”

     They lay there for a while, watching the dust settle in the air. Judy swallowed.

     “But, you...you said something,” Judy said, “That kinda made me think.”

     “...Oh yeah?” Nick asked, “What was it?”

     “You said that ‘We’re not’...”

     “...We’re not  _ what? _ ”

     “I don’t know, you didn’t finish it.”

     “Oh, well...okay.”

     Judy let out a breath. “But I wanted to ask…” she continued, “...What were you gonna say?”

     She felt Nick’s muscles slowly tense. She could tell that his brain was working like a machine. She heard him open his mouth. There was a pause.

     “I don’t know,” he said, “I really don’t know.”

     Judy adjusted her position and rested her head on her paw. Nick rolled over and pressed his back against hers. She could feel his tail brushing up against her feet. She matched the rise and fall of his lungs. They laid there for a long time in complete silence. Suddenly, Judy swallowed.

    “Nick,” she said, “What if...what if we  _ were  _ a thing?”

     Silence. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

     “I mean,” Judy continued, “We don't have to be, but...if you're okay with it, then I am too.”

     No response. Judy gulped. She glanced over her shoulder.

     “...Nick?”

     She carefully sat up and looked at him. Nick was sprawled on the mattress next to her, his arms splayed in front of him. His eyes were completely shut, and his breaths were long, slow and relaxed. 

     He had fallen asleep.

     Judy let out a sigh of relief. She slowly turned around, laid down, and pressed her back against his.

     “Goodnight, you dumb fox,” she whispered.

     Nick slowly opened his eyes. His brain screamed at him to calm his pulse and regulate his breathing. Judy’s words played on repeat in his head.

_      “...if you're okay with it, then I am too…” _


	6. 01010011/01101001/01111000

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gnxr guvf nf n jneavat

     The morning sun cast a stunning shadow through the window and onto the bed. The gentle rays felt warm and cozy on Judy’s fur. She stretched her arms up over her head and yawned. With a grunt, she slowly rolled over onto her side and sighed. Her eyes slowly opened.

     The bed was empty.

     Judy dazedly rolled back over. Her eyes took a moment to focus. Her eyes blinked once, twice, three times, trying to decipher the blotches of light that clouded her vision. The blurry shapes came together and formed a clear picture of Nick sitting at the table, still in his pajamas. She chuckled.

     “Morning, Mr. Early Bird…”

     She slowly sat up and let her feet flop off the edge of the bed. She rested her paws beneath her.

     “What are you doing up so early?” she asked, “Usually I’m the one who has to give _you_ the wake up call…”

     She took a look at the alarm clock on her bedside table.

     “7:45?” she asked, “Jeez, Nick, why’d you let me sleep in so late? No wonder I’m so groggy…”

     With a push of her arms, she jumped to her feet. She arched her back, cracking every vertebrae on the way down. Her feet lazily shuffled towards the fridge, and she placed a heavy paw on the handle.

     “So let me guess,” she mumbled, “You want your usual? Blueberry toaster waffles? I think I may have a couple left…”

     She reached in and pulled out a half-empty frost covered box. She also pulled out a carton of orange juice. With the push of a hip, she closed the door.

     “Very quiet this morning,” she said, “Still waking up?”

     Nick had his back to her. His ears were back, and he was very still. Judy noticed that he was holding his phone in front of him. She slowly placed the waffles and the juice on the counter.

     “...Is...is everything okay?”

     She came around to his shoulder. Nick was reading something on his phone quietly. Judy noticed that he was crying. She placed her paw on his back.

     “Nick,” she asked, “What’s wrong?”

     Nick sniffled. He wiped his eyes and dropped his phone on the table. He pushed his chair out and stood up.

     “Read it,” he said quietly, walking towards the window.

     “What is it?”

     “Just...just read it...”

* * *

     There was still blood splattered on the floor. Wolford’s body had been removed from the meat hook in the ceiling where he had been found hanging by his jaw. Grizzoli--his partner and neighbor--had found him there about an hour before. His apartment had been completely destroyed. Chairs and tables were overturned, drawers were emptied, personal items had been completely smashed. Some loose articles of clothing sat over his desk chair, speckled with blood. His sheets and mattress were practically drenched in it.

     Nick and Judy stood in the middle of the room, absorbing it all. Forensics teams milled about the room, snapping any extra pictures or taking any more blood samples needed. Judy could feel the lump in her throat clawing and tearing away at her. Nick was tightly grasping her shoulder, trying to keep his breathing slow and regulated.

     Grizzoli ducked into the room and cleared his throat. Nick and Judy turned around. His cheeks were streaked with tears, and his eyes were bloodshot. He sniffled.

     “I, uh…” he mumbled, “...Chief said that if you wanted, you guys could have these…”

     From behind his back, he revealed a small plastic bag. Inside were Wolford’s sleek rectangular glasses, a drop of blood in the corner of the right lens. Judy brought her paw to her mouth.

     “Jamie, he uh...he told me how you guys complimented him on ‘em...he was really happy that someone thought they didn’t make him look too nerdy…”

     He presented them with the bag, and Nick gently took it from him. Grizzoli politely bowed his head and left. Nick turned to Judy with the bag in his hands, holding it like an ancient artifact. He slowly opened it and pulled out the glasses. The metal rims caught the light like a knife, cutting through the specks of dust floating through the air. Judy softly placed her finger on the edge of one, slowly tracing the path of the light.

     Suddenly, there was a commotion in the hallway. Nick and Judy looked up to see Grizzoli with his head against the wall, sobbing. The other officers in the hall quickly gathered around him. He slammed his paw against the wall in an outburst, and the other mammals quickly comforted him with gentle touches and reassuring words. He melted into their arms as they lead him down the hallway.

     “Detectives,” a voice called from the other end of the room, “You might want to come take a look at this.”

     Nick and Judy turned. Officer Rhinowitz was next to Wolford’s bed, holding the pillow high above the mattress. Beneath it was a nicely folded piece of paper.

     They dashed over to the side of the bed. Nick plucked the piece of paper from the mattress and unfolded it. Inside was another glossy message.

**_gnxr guvf nf n jneavat_ **

     Nick tossed the note onto the mattress. “Great,” he muttered, “Another code. Just what we need right now.”

     He rubbed his eyes. Judy picked up the message and slowly ran her fingers over the lettering. She looked over the imprint of the moth, and she stared long and hard at the monogram that followed. She sighed and flipped the page over.

     There was something off.

     Judy held the note up closer to her face. She noticed a slight difference in texture near the bottom left corner of the page. She brushed her fingers over it, and she noticed that the  paper felt slightly thinner.

     Judy walked over and put her back to the window, holding the paper in front of her. The sunlight bathed over it, causing the pearlescent letters to shimmer. She held it up above her head, trying to see any pinpricks or cut outs or thinning in the material. Nick looked over at her, and his eyes suddenly widened.

     “Carrots,” he said, “Don’t move.”

     Judy’s ears perked up. Her eyes followed Nick as he slowly walked across the room and stood in front of her. He carefully pulled out his phone and pointed the camera at her.

     “Nick, what are you doing--”

     “No no no, _shhh_! Just stay there.”

     “Don’t Snapcat this, this is a private investiga--”

     “I said don’t move!”

     Judy rolled her eyes and sighed. Nick quickly snapped a picture. He then walked towards Judy, brandishing his phone.

     Displayed on the screen was Judy holding the message, the light filtering in from behind her. On the bottom corner of the paper was a web address, spelled out in pinpricks that caught the sunlight from behind. Judy turned around and held the paper in front of the window. The web link magically appeared. Judy looked to Nick.

     “Another lead.”

     “I don’t want to just jump into this immediately,” Nick said, “It could be a virus or something, we have no idea. We need somebody who can make sure we aren’t stepping into dangerous territory.”

     “But...we don’t have anybody now.” Judy said. “What do we do?”

     Nick sighed. He glanced around the room. It was still quietly busy with photos and officers milling about. He gently put a paw on Judy’s shoulder.

     “I think that we should check in on Fangmyer,” he said. “See how she’s doing.”

* * *

     Nick and Judy listened to the low buzz of the fluorescent lights, mixed with the footsteps and whispering that echoed throughout the halls. They were sitting in chairs set outside the ICU. Judy anxiously twiddled her thumbs in her lap, her ears down by her shoulders. Nick counted the holes in the tiled ceiling. What felt like years flew by.

     Suddenly, a Jaguar in a lab coat approached. Nick and Judy sat up in their seats.

     “Well,” Judy asked, “Can we see her?”

     “Yes,” the doctor said, “But with an exception.”

     Nick and Judy looked at each other.

     “Officer Fangmyer is still recovering from a very severe skull fracture--” she said, “--with minor injuries to the brain. She is also on very heavy pain medication. We ask that you keep any tasks you ask for her to perform very limited, as we are monitoring her brain activity. Do you understand?”

     Nick looked at the message in his hand. He looked back up at her.

     “You can’t let them know that we’re talking to her?”

     “We could,” the doctor said, “But that’s besides the point. We wouldn’t be able to discern whether you were having her decipher something, or if it was irregular brain activity. Even a complex conversation could be mistaken for a minor seizure."

     Judy’s heart dropped into her stomach. Nick placed his elbow on the armrest and slowly began to rub his temples. Judy found Nick’s paw and gently squeezed. A melancholy breath escaped his lips and he squeezed back.

     “Can we see her anyway?” Judy asked.

* * *

     It was a disquieting sight to behold. Fangmyer’s whole head was adorned with gauze, having been freshly wrapped a couple moments before. An oxygen mask was positioned over her muzzle, pumping air in and out of her lungs. There were electrodes strapped onto her head and down her chest, a pulse monitor on her right index finger. The heart monitor behind her slowly and steadily beeped. Nick and Judy watched her from the foot of her bed, holding their breath. After a long silence, Judy gently rested her paw on Fangmyer’s leg.

     Her eyes slowly opened. She looked about the room, then slowly, her eyes focused on Nick and Judy. A hint of a smile appeared on her face.

     “Hey there, metal-head,” Nick said, “How’re you holdin’ up?”

     Fangmyer slowly pointed to the mask on her face, then drew her paw across her throat.

     “You can’t talk?” Judy asked.

     Fangmyer gave a half-hearted shrug and gestured to the doctors, then back to her mask and her throat.

     “Oh, I see,” said Nick, “The asshole doctors won’t let you talk with that thing on.”

     Fangmyer chuckled. Nick pulled out his phone and opened a document app. He placed it underneath Fangmyer’s free paw on the bed. She slowly began to press out a message on his phone. Nick turned his head to read it, and he laughed.

     “What? What did she say?”

     “She said _‘Hey there, jackass’_ ,” Nick said, “And also, _‘Nice to see you too, Hopps’_.”

     Judy chuckled. “How are you holding up?” she asked.

     Fangmyer typed in another sentence. Nick read it aloud.

_my head hurts._

     Nick and Judy laughed. Nick wiped his eyes.

     “Well,” he said, “They can try to take away your brain, but they can never take away your sense of humor.”

     They looked back up at Fangmyer. Her brow was furrowed, and her eyes darted between them. Nick and Judy’s smiles slowly disappeared.

     “Oh, you--you don’t know, do you?”

     Fangmyer typed in another message.

_what? what happened?_

     “Listen,” Nick sighed, “There’s a lot that’s happened in the past twelve hours, all of which Chief can fill you in on later. Right now, we have some important stuff that we want to talk to you about.”

     Fangmyer stared at them solemnly. She slowly typed.

_about dylan?_

     Judy and Nick nodded. Fangmyer’s eyes drifted off into the distance for a moment. She slowly readjusted her head and typed.

_don’t need to ask. i know what you want to hear._

     “Okay,” Judy said, “But only if you’re comfortable. Nobody’s forcing you.

     Fangmyer meditatively closed her eyes for a moment. She slowly opened them and began to type.

_he was a computer guy. really into coding. had always been since he was little. more than me. taught him about anatomy of computer backwards and forwards, and he got real good at it. when he got older, branched off on his own. self-taught. learned different programs, how to get into them, etc._

     Fangmyer’s fingers were now flying across the screen at an incredible pace. Nick and Judy struggled to keep up.

_one point, found out about this group. better lives organization. had no idea what it was, still don’t really. just thought it was group of teenagers screwing around. seemed really serious about it though. he applied for position and was accepted._

     “So he actually was a part of it?” Judy asked.

_yes._

     “That confirms it,” Nick said, “He _was_ a whistleblower.”

_yes. don’t know what for. all i know is that further he got into it and the longer he was part of it, the more it changed him. he got really paranoid and anxious about everything. started being really reclusive, mom said he barely left his room. one point he told me he had been assigned to hack into bank files to transfer money, wanted advice on whether or not to do it. thought he was joking. brushed it off as nothing. who would’ve known? remember lemmings united case?_

     Nick and Judy stared at her, wide-eyed.

     “That was _him?_ ” Judy asked.

     Fangmyer gently nodded, her eyes clamped shut.

     “That was _half a million dollars_ ,” Nick said, “Why didn’t you do something about it?”

_i was scared for him. couldn’t turn him in, couldn’t put him through that. life sentence? no. never._

     “What did you tell him?” Judy asked, “ _Did_ you tell him?”

_yes. i told him to get out of it. said that he couldn’t, wouldn’t say why. said there was something important happening. i said i would turn him in, but he knew i was lying. he stayed  with them despite my advice._

_then, week or so back, he started acting even stranger. in a daze whenever i muzzletimed him. saw the mask appear in corner of his room. started saying things like “i love you” and “stay safe” all the time. didn’t eat, didn’t sleep, didn’t talk unless necessary. then, couple nights ago he asked me something._

     Fangmyer had stopped typing. Tears were welling in her eyes. Her chest was heaving. Nick and Judy sat on the edge of their chairs.

     “What?” Judy asked, “What did he say?”

     Fangmyer suddenly ripped her oxygen mask up and over her head. She took a deep breath.

     “God, I _hate_ that thing,” she choked.

     “Hey, hey it’s okay,” Nick said, placing his paw on her ankle, “Sit back and take a deep breath, you don’t have to--”

     “He asked me if I would miss him if he was gone.”

     “ _What?_ ”

     “I told him yes, and then he said he wished that I wouldn’t. He said that it was ‘cause he didn’t want to upset me.”

     Fangmyer was breathing very hard. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and her heart monitor was increasing its pace. She instinctively drew her arm across her stomach. Judy grabbed her paw.

     “It’s okay, take a deep breath--”

     “I hate this,” she said, “I wanna get out of here. I wanna get out of this goddamn bed and find them, I wanna find out who did this to him, I wanna rip off all these goddamn wires and tubes, and--and--”

     Suddenly, she was sobbing, slowly rocking back and forth. Nick and Judy were gently holding her shoulders, trying to calm her down. The door burst open, and a team of doctors came rushing into the room. Nick and Judy were ushered away from her, and they quickly stepped outside. As the doctors examined her in a panic, the jaguar from before stepped away and turned towards them.

     “What happened?”

     “We were just asking her some questions about the case, and--”

     “I explicitly said not to over-exert her in any way.”

     “We didn’t! Or we-we didn’t try to--”

     “I’m going to have to ask you two to leave,” the doctor said coldly. “Ms. Fangmyer cannot be visited by anyone else today.”

     “Wait,” Nick said, “Can’t we just--”

     “Detectives, if you cannot find the door yourselves, I can have security show you if necessary. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a patient to tend to.”

     The door slammed in their face. The muffled voices of the doctors filtered through. Nick and Judy stared at it for a moment, processing. They slowly looked at one another.

* * *

     They sat in the patrol car in a stunned silence. Nick was slouched back in his seat, his elbow resting on the window sill. He stared out the window at the people entering and exiting the hospital. Judy gently drummed her fingers on the wheel. Her ears rotated back and forth on her head like radar, picking up the crunching of leaves under feet outside and the kids playing on the playground nearby and the slow and steady breaths from Nick next to her. Finally, she slumped back in her seat and held her face in her paws.

     “Oh god, Nick...what do we do now?”

     “What do you mean?”

     “Our only tech expert is indisposed for the next week _at least_.”

     “Well, we can always just wait it out…” Nick sighed, “...but I don’t think either of us are patient enough for that.”

     Judy saw Nick look at her in his peripheral vision. She tried to stifle the smirk appearing at the corner of her mouth.

     “That’s right, Energizer Bunny,” Nick teased. “ You can’t wait for anything, it’s always ‘right here right now’ with you. Catch the criminal, solve the case, all within an hour.”

     Judy chuckled to herself. The car fell back into silence. Judy began to drum her fingers again.

     “Wait,” Nick said, “I’m such an idiot, of course we have somebody.”

     Judy looked at him. “Who?” she asked.

     “Hell, we probably got a whole _group_ of people,” Nick said, “Remember what Fangmyer said about the life sentence?”

     Judy’s ears slowly perked. Her eyes widened.

     “Somebody’s had to have gotten arrested for something like this before--”

     “Exactly!” Nick said, “I’m sure we got plenty of hackers and programmers in jail right now, just waiting for a chance to get out of their dinky little jail cells. We have a whole criminal _pool_ to choose from.”

     They looked at each other. Judy suddenly whipped out her phone. She began to dial a number.

     “Where we goin’, Carrots?”

     “Where we can get our best selection.”

     The line picked up. Judy held the phone to her ear.

_“St. Bearitali’s Correctional Facility,”_ a voice droned on the other end of the line, _“How may I help you?”_

     “This is Detective Hopps of ZPD precinct one. Are there any mammals in your prison who have been incarcerated due to cyber attacks of any sort?”

_“Sure, we got plenty.”_

     “We need some assistance on a case,” Judy said, “Do you think you could give us  someone?”

_“One sec, lemme put you on hold.”_

     There was a click, but the line remained alive. Judy sat back and listened.

     “You know what the cool part about all this is?” Nick asked.

     Judy looked at him. “What?”

     “We can finally get rid of those awful uniforms.”

     Judy snorted.

     “It’s true! We can wear whatever the hell we want now!”

     “I’m not so sure about _that_ ,” said Judy, “There still is a bit of a dress code.”

     “So, what you’re telling me is I _can’t_ show up to an investigation in swim trunks?”

     Judy couldn’t contain her laughter. Nick grinned at her.

     “Cause, y’know, everyone would enjoy _that_.”

     “You dumb fox…”

     The chuckling died down. They sat in silence for a while, listening to the dead air through Judy’s phone. Judy glanced at the clock on the dashboard. It was only 9:15. She let out a gust of air. Suddenly, Nick cleared his throat.

     “Hey Jude, listen, uh...about--about last night--”

_“Detective? You still there?”_

     Judy quickly raised her phone back up to her ear.

     “Yes sir, still here."

_“We got somebody for ya. What time will you be comin’ over?”_


	7. 01010011/01100101/01110110/01100101/01101110

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> M H A R E B A C K

     St. Bearitali’s was one of the largest and most heavily monitored prisons within the Zootopia and Tri-Borough area combined. A large concrete wall laced with barbed wire surrounded the perimeter, a large trench extending approximately 12 feet behind it. The place was lined with multiple guard towers, each equipped with a 1000 watt searchlight and two guards each. The whole complex housed up to 8000 mammals, stretching 16 stories high and 4 floors underneath the earth.

     There were three different check points that Nick and Judy had to go through. One at the gate, one at the front entrance, and then one more at the elevator. Their badges were thoroughly examined, and their dart guns were checked inside and out. At the front entrance, both had to be frisked, and Nick had trouble containing his laughter. 

     Finally, they were taken to the -2nd floor. They were lead through a heavy iron door with a pneumatic lock. Inside was a simple circular room, completely concrete. A table and chairs were set in the middle. Two vigorously armored guards flanked a door on the opposite side. Judy and Nick took a seat. She looked up at him.

     “Geez. All this for one mammal?”

     “I’m expecting  _ Animal Lecter _ to come out at this point,” Nick muttered.

     Suddenly, there was a loud buzz. The door between the guards unlatched and swung open. A voice spat from the dark.

_      “C’mon, c’mon, I can do it myself…” _

_      “You’re cuffed, buttercup. Lemme help.” _

     From the darkness, a bright orange jumpsuit was wheeled out. It was a frumpy Honey Badger in her mid-30s. A pair of yellow-tinted glasses rested on her nose, and the white wisps of fur on her head spewed wildly in all directions. She was slumped in a wheelchair, her wrists shackled together. A lightly flickering shock collar was attached around her neck.

     “You call me buttercup again,” she snarled, “These claws are gonna end up in your…”

     Her eyes fell upon Judy and Nick at the table. She slowly sat up in the chair, eyes widening. Nick slowly stood up from the table.

_      “...Honey?” _

     “...Oh my God...”

     “...I...I didn’t know you were…”

     “When Finnick said you became a cop I thought he was  _ joking _ .”

     Nick suddenly erupted in laughter and lunged over the table. He latched onto Honey in her chair. She laughed and awkwardly patted him on the shoulder with her cuffed paws. The guards quickly raised their guns, but Judy quickly motioned for them to stand down.

     “Oh my  _ God! _ ”

     “Nicholas Piberius Wilde, you were the  _ last  _ mammal I ever expected to see walk in this room!”

     “ _ You  _ were the last one I ever expected to see  _ here!  _ The Herder got you on  _ this much lockdown _ ?”

     “Yeah, I-I mean, what can I say, I--”

     Judy cleared her throat. Nick and Honey stopped and looked up at her. Suddenly, Nick’s ears shot up.

     “Oh! Of course,” Nick said, “Where are my manners--Hopps, this is Madge Honey Badger, the penultimate  _ leader  _ of probably one of the craziest conspiracy theorist trains--”

     “Oh c’mon! When you say it like  _ that _ \--”

     “What else do you want me to call it?”

     “It’s a website called  _ The Herder, _ ” Honey said to Judy, “It’s a public profile on every Sheep and Ram in Zootopia. Where they work, where they live, everything.”

     “She’s convinced that they’re gonna be the end of the world.”

     “Nick, I’ve  _ told  _ you, think about it! Every national disaster in the past few decades?  _ All involved sheep. _ ”

     Judy raised an eyebrow.

     “...Wow…” she said, “That’s, uh...yeah, that’s very  _ interesting... _ Nick, c-can we…?”

     Judy pointed between them. Nick’s eyebrows popped up.

     “Oh, yeah, sorry--Honey, this is my partner, Detective Judy Hopps. We’ve uh, we’ve worked together for the past--”

     “So  _ this  _ is the bunny Finnick’s talked to me about?!” Honey cackled, “Christ on a  _ bike  _ Nick! Look at you! Wearin’ a badge and screwin’ a bunny!”

     Judy firmly grabbed the end of Nick’s tail. His eyes popped out of his head, and he quickly snapped his head over his shoulder. Judy had a smile on her face and death in her eyes.

_      “Let’s  _ _ talk. _ _ ” _

     The large iron door swung open, and Judy dragged Nick out into the alcove. The door clanked shut behind them.

     “Nick,” Judy said, “Who the _ hell _ is this?”

     “Whoa, Carrots,” Nick teased, “Those are some powerful words you’re using all of a sudden--”

     “We need someone with experience in coding and electronics,” Judy hissed, “Not some wacko with a fohawk!”

     “Look, hear me out on this--”

     “Oh, yeah, ‘cause  _ that’s  _ put us in some great situations--”

     “C’mon, just--just listen for a sec!”

     Judy groaned and slapped her paws to her forehead. She slowly dragged them down across her cheeks, her eyelids stretching and drooping. Her paws fell to her sides and she shot Nick a glare.

     “Fine,” she said, “But you have one minute before I call in a replacement.”

     “Okay, look,” Nick began, “Honey knows what she’s doing, okay? Yeah, she’s completely batshit crazy, but she knows what she’s doing. She’s a  _ genius! _ That website thing she made? Created a program that drew from animal’s profiles on social media, job sites, dating sites,  _ everything. _ Took her three days to program it, three hours to complete the website. Went unnoticed for  _ seven months,  _ Judy. She’s hacked into government systems, bank accounts, managed to book herself a weekend in the Baahamas without paying a  _ cent.” _

     Judy gave him an incredulous glare. Nick threw his hands up defensively.

     “What? I’m serious!” he said. “Look, just, she’s a great mammal to have on the case, she’s--you’ve gotta trust me on this one Carrots.”

     Judy stared at him long and hard.

     “If this goes wrong because of you--”

     “I’ll take you out to dinner every night for a week. I promise.”

     Judy raised an indignant finger. It remained wobbling in the air as she bit her lip. Slowly, she lowered it and nodded.

     “Good,” she said.

     The doors swung back open with a hiss. Honey stared at them expectantly through the doorway.

     “So...enjoy your little gossip sesh?”

     Nick sauntered back in, Judy trailing behind. “Wasn’t as fun without you,” he said.

     “D’oh,  _ stop  _ it you foxy son of a bitch, I don’t wanna hear it.”

     Nick and Judy sat down. Nick placed his elbows on the table and folded his paws.

     “So, what are you guys doin’ here?” Honey asked, “Just wanted to pay a visit?”

     Nick chortled. “As irresistible as you are, Honey, I’m afraid it’s a little more than that.”

     Honey chuckled to herself, then suddenly, her face fell.

     “Oh god,” she said, “Is it something I did? Are you two gonna straighten me out? Was it the Bug Burger thing? ‘Cause if it’s the Bug Burger thing I have a perfectly reasonable explanation if you’ll just hear me out--”

     “No, no, this isn’t about you, Honey...or, well, not in that way, at least.”

     Honey raised an eyebrow.

     “Okay...I’m intrigued.”

     Judy gave her a look.  _ “Good,” _ she said. “You may not have much of a choice--”

     “Here’s what’s going on, Honey,” Nick interrupted, “We’re working on a really big case right now. It’s got a lot of twists and turns to it that we can’t quite navigate on our own. What we’re saying is, we may need a little help”

     “...You want me...to help you two with a case?”

     “Exactly.”

     Honey threw her head back and cackled. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she giggled, looking at Nick and Judy. They stared blankly back at her. Honey’s laughter slowly died down, and she let out an awkward sigh.

     “Well, I-I mean, you-you don--I, I-I’m  _ honored _ , you guys, but I’m…I’m not a detective, alright? I just play around on computers. That’s the only thing I’m good at.”

_      “Exactly,”  _ Nick said. “The suspects have been leaving clues in different codes and algorithms that we don’t know how to decipher. We were thinking that you might be just right for that kind of stuff. Do you think you could handle that?”

     “Well, shit! Sure!” Honey laughed, “That’s my language, man. Who is it, though, what’s--what is it?”

     “We don’t really know at the moment,” said Judy. “All we know for sure right now is that it’s being lead by a group of individuals who call themselves the Better Lives Organization.”

     Honey’s face suddenly fell. She retracted in her seat and began to quickly shake her head.

     “No. No way. I’m not doing that.”

     “What, do you--do you  _ know  _ them?”

     “Uh,  _ yeah,  _ and I am not gonna do that. I refuse.”

     “Wait,” Judy said, “Why not?”

     “Listen,” said Honey, “There is a list of people I  _ do  _ screw with, then there’s a list of people I  _ don’t  _ screw with. The list of people that I  _ don’t  _ screw with is very small, but the BLO is right at the top of it.”

     “Why not?” Nick said, “What is it about them?”

     “I...I can’t say, it’s...oh my god, I can’t believe I’m--”

     “What?” Judy asked, “If there’s anything you know about them, we need to hear it.”

     “No no no, don’t you understand? I  _ can’t _ . I’m telling you.”

     “Are you scared they might find out?” Nick asked, “If it’s protection that you wan--that you  _ need,  _ we can provide it.”

     Honey scoffed at him.

     “Okay, c’mon, that’s bullshit, okay? We all know that. If I tell you I even  _ know  _ something about them, this place’ll have another ‘pillow case suicide’ in the morning. There’s no hiding from these guys. I mean, shit, we’ve got three of ‘em in here right now!”

     Nick and Judy slowly looked up at the guards. The guards nervously eyed each other, confused. Judy discreetly palmed her dart gun.

_      “Who?” _

     “If they were guns they woulda shot ya, Cottontail,” Honey said, “They’re right above us.”

     Honey raised her handcuffed paws to the corners of the room. Nick and Judy looked where she was ponting. Camera were mounted on the wall.

     “One...two...three…all around us. Always listening, always watching.”

     “The...the security guards?”

     “No, I’m talking the actual cameras. The amount of effort it takes to get footage from one of those is absolutely comedic. They’re probably watching us through one of those right now.”

     Judy gazed at the cameras, slowly standing up. She turned to the guards behind Honey.

     “Can we get those off in any way?”

_      “HA!”  _ Honey laughed, “Good luck with  _ that!  _ Cut out surveillance on a floor -2 prisoner? Yeah  _ right. _ ”

     “Listen, Honey,” Nick said, “We need you to take a risk on this. We can give you safety and protection, despite what you insist about its effectiveness. We need to solve this case, and we can’t do it without you.”

     “Well, yeah, that’s a shame, Nick,” said Honey, “Cause I am _ not _ doing this, okay? And you can’t make me.”

     “Listen,” Judy said, “I don’t think you truly understand the size of what we’re dealing with here--”

     “ _ Really?  _ ‘Cause I don’t think  _ you  _ quite understand, Flopsy.”

     “Two days ago, Dylan Fangmyer interrupted every TV channel and computer with a live broadcast message, warning us about something. He then proceeded to produce a gun and shoot himself on-camera, in front of  _ millions _ . Since then we have had two, almost  _ three  _ more deaths because of this.”

     “Oh,  _ boohoo _ !” Honey said, “What about all the other people these guys have killed, huh? This isn’t exclusive to you, Detective Bunny Bumpkin, do you think this is just a one-time thing? These guys have been picking off hundreds, thousands of mammals before this case. What about  _ them _ , huh? Where’s  _ their _ ZPD investigation?”

     Judy slammed her paws on the table and towered over Honey, fuming.

     “We are  _ not  _ gonna back down on this case, do you understand? You said countless mammals have died at the hands of them? Then we’re gonna fight back! We are  _ not _ gonna let another couple lives slide past just because you were too lazy and cowardly to get off your tail and do something about this! They’ve already snuffed out too many mammals and ruined the lives of too many others because of it. We are going to find out who they are and  _ end  _ them, and you are going to  _ help _ us, because by God _ ,  _ we can  _ not  _ afford to lose any more of them! Is that clear?!”

     Judy’s chest heaved, her watery eyes glaring a hole through Honey’s skull. She  realized that her paw was grasping tightly onto the neck of Honey’s jumpsuit. She looked around the room at the guards, guns raised and cocked. Nick was standing with his arms out, a terrified look on his face. Judy looked back down at Honey. Her eyes were wide and fearful. 

     There was a long silence.

     A gruff, gravelly chuckle emitted from Honey’s throat. She gave Judy a toothy grin, the same fear laced in her eyes.

     “Holy shit,” she breathed. “You’re fucking  _ terrifying _ .”

     Judy let go of Honey’s collar. Honey wheezed out another laugh.

     “Did you guys see that?” she asked, “Forreal, I thought I was gonna get clocked out by her, that was fuckin’  _ scary!  _ Wow! Where’d you learn how to do that? Is that what they teach you to do at the Academy?”

     Judy slowly slid off the table. Nick gently grabbed her shoulder and lead her to her seat. Judy sat down, ears drooping.

     “And they say that prey can’t go savage," Honey said. " _ Wow, _ that was something…”

     “I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to--”

     “No, no! Don’t apologize, that was  _ awesome! _ I’ve never seen a bunny do something like that before, that was crazy! Ha! Remind me never to get on  _ your  _ bad side…”

     “Look Honey,” Nick said. “We really need your help on this case. You’re probably the best mammal for it, and--”

     “And you can’t do it without me, I know, I know,” Honey said, “Flattery is gonna get you nowhere, Nicky...but you know what? Fine. Fuck it. I’ll help you guys out, if you need me  _ that  _ badly.”

     “Really?” Judy asked, “You mean it?”

     “Sure,” said Honey, “Why not? Let’s just do it, I’ll-I'll fucking do it.”

     “Why the sudden change of heart?” Nick asked, “Not that I’m complaining or anything, but...”

     “Well, I mean... _ look _ at me,” Honey said. “I’m a crippled honey badger with ADHD and little to no extended family. I’ve been locked up in here for the past three years, so probably no one remembers me...I mean at  _ this  _ point, what have I got to lose, really?”

     Judy and Nick looked at each other. Nick smiled. He looked up at the guards.

    “Let’s get her out of those handcuffs, could we?”

* * *

_      “I’m sorry, Detective Hopps,”  _ Bogo’s voice crackled through the reciever,  _ “But you want me to do  _ _ what _ _?” _

     Judy nervously bit her lip, holding the desk phone up to her ears. Nick was handing Honey the last of her clothes--a camo jacket covered in miscellaneous badges and patches along with a red bandana--as Honey cracked her neck with the shove of her hands on her chin.

     “Sweet  _ relief _ …” she groaned. “Those shock collars are  _ tight,  _ y’know?”

     “I said,” Judy stammered into the phone, “I need you to put a prisoner into our temporary custody.”

_      “And why do you expect me to do that?”  _ Bogo asked.  _ “Just because you’re a detective now doesn’t mean you suddenly have an unlimited amount of authority, Hopps. You and Detective Wilde need to remember that.” _

     “Yes sir, I-I’m aware. It’s just--this prisoner has a lot of useful information that could help us with the case, and they’re also able to assist us in place of Fangmyer or...or Wolford, sir. They posses an array of talents that will come in great value.”

_      “Do you know how much paper work I’ll have to go through for this? Transferring custody of a criminal--especially one accused of cybercrime on a government level--is not an easy process to go through, Hopps.” _

     “I understand, sir, but this mammal is who we so desperately need right now,” Judy said. “We won’t be able to solve this case without her.”

     “I’m touched, Flopsy,” Honey called.

     Judy shot her a glare. “Call me that again, the shock collar goes back on.”

     Honey raised her eyebrows and shook her paws above her shoulders in mock fear as Nick tried to stifle his laughter. Judy tightened her grip on the phone.

_      “If I do this for you,”  _ Bogo said,  _ “You’re running parking duty for a  _ _ week _ _ once this case is closed.” _

     Judy winced and balled her fist. She swallowed.

     “Yes, Chief,” she said through clenched teeth.

     There was a pause. Finally, Bogo sighed.

_      “I guess that’s that then,”  _ Bogo said.  _ “I’ll make sure you two can take her with you when you leave.” _

     “Thank you so much, sir, you--you won’t regret it!”

_      “Don’t speak so soon, Hopps.” _

     The line died with a click. Judy carefully placed the phone back into its cradle. She glared at Nick.

     “This better be worth it, slick.”

     “Don’t worry, Carrots,” Nick said with a smile, “We’ll get our money’s worth out of her, right Honey?”

     “Yeah, don’t--wait a second--” Honey said, “Did you--did you  _ purchase  _ me?”

     “I'm gonna refrain from answering that,” Nick snickered. 

     He walked past her and started out the door. Honey looked to Judy.

     “He’s lying,” she said, “He’s totally screwing with me, you’re--you’re lying, right?”

* * *

     Honey grabbed the handle inside the wall of the squad car and lifted herself up and out of her wheelchair, into the backseat. Nick folded up her wheelchair and tossed it in the trunk. Judy started up the engine as Nick opened up the door and hopped in the passenger seat. Honey sighed.

     “Oh, thank  _ God _ \--” she groaned, “I haven’t been in a solitary car in  _ years. _ ”

     “Still probably not the best one, though,” Nick said, “You comfortable back there?”

     “Oh yeah,” she said, giving the hard fiberglass back a couple brisk knocks with her knuckles, “Like a fuckin’ marshmallow.”

     “Good,” Nick said. “Sit back and enjoy the ride.”

     Judy slowly drove through the front gate, saluting to the guards at their post. They pulled off down the driveway and started back towards the city.

     “So,” Nick said, “They been treating you well in there, Bush-Top?”

     “What do you think, Foxy?” she asked, “Those shock collars were ultra-death, man. I only got hit with ‘em twice, but it’s still absolutely  _ terrible _ . Like a buzzsaw ripping through your esophagus.”

     “Oh my god,” said Judy, “Why would they do that?”

     “ ‘S supposed to eliminate agression,” Honey said, “But mostly it’s just a pain in the neck.” 

     Nick snorted. Judy rolled her eyes. Honey looked at them through the mirror.

     “...What? Did I say something?”

     “Wait,” Judy said, “What was the thing you said about a bush?”

     Nick’s ears perked up. “Hm?”

     “Bush-top, what was that?”

     “Oh,  _ Bush-Head _ ,” Nick said. “Nah, that’s just one of Honey’s nicknames. I call her that ‘cause that mane of hers has a mind of its own.”

     “We have all kinds of nicknames for each other,” Honey said, “You should’ve heard some of the ones Nick used for me back in college.”

     Nick’s cheeks burned red through his fur. His ears folded back and he lowered his head. Judy glanced at him.

     “...Wait...you two knew each other in college?”

     “Ohhhhh yeah,” Honey said with a grin, “We  _ definitely _ knew each other in college.”

     Judy looked at both of them. Suddenly, the answer hit her like a freight train. Her eyes popped out of her head.

     “...Sweet cheese and crackers...you two-- _ seriously?! _ ”

     “That’s right, baby,” Honey laughed, “Nick and I used to be friends who shared a couple  _ benefits. _ ”

     Nick’s whole face had turned a full shade brighter than his fur. He buried his face in his paws and groaned. Judy laughed hysterically.

     “I can’t believe we’re talking about this…” Nick mumbled through his hands.

     “Wait wait wait,” Judy wheezed, “For how long?”

     “Either  _ you _ tell her or  _ I  _ do, Nicky,” Honey said.

     Nick held the bridge of his nose and sighed.

     “Three weeks,” he said with a wince.

_      “Three weeks?!” _ Judy said, “Wow, Nick, that’s  _ quite _ the commitment!”

     “It was college, we were stupid, and it was just a one-time thing,” Nick said, “Never gonna happen again.”

     “Well, Foxy,” Honey called from the backseat, “I wouldn’t call  _ three weeks  _ a one time thing.”

     Nick groaned and let his head fall on the dashboard. Judy fell into a bout of giggles, struggling to keep the car on track. She wiped the tears from her eyes with a sigh.

     “What cut it off?” she breathed.

     “We both realized that it was just weird, and that it wasn’t working, so we stopped.”

     “Let’s be honest here, you just couldn’t handle the full package, bud.”

_      “Shut up!” _

     Judy and Honey burst into laughter as Nick sank into his seat. He glared out the windshield as Judy wheezed herself to a puddle beside him. Honey snorted.

     “You know what my favorite name was?”

     “Oh, I gotta know  _ this. _ What?”

     Honey leaned forward with a smile.

_      “Honey Bunches,” _

     Judy let out a guffaw. Nick curled over his lap, his hands over his head.

     “...Just kill me now…”

     “Nick, you little  _ heartthrob _ ,” Judy wheezed, “I didn’t know you could be so  _ sappy _ !”

     “Honey, you promised me we would  _ never  _ speak of this again--”

     “C’mon, Nick, you know I’m just teasing…”

     Nick looked up and faced Judy. He raised a finger.

     “Not a word of this leaves this car,” he said, “You promise?”

     “Oh,  _ of course, _ ” Judy crooned in mock seriousness. “My lips are sealed Mr. Wilde, I would never tell a  _ soul. _ ”

     Nick glared at her. Honey snickered.

     The car fell into a calm silence as everyone focused their attention to the road. Zootopia was approaching fast, only a mile away. The sun glistened off of the silver skyscrapers that pierced the clouds, throwing shards of light at the buildings surrounding them. Trains zipped around on their tracks, carrying mammals from place to place on their own unique journeys. The city was alive and bubbling, ready for the day ahead.

     Judy giggled to herself. Nick looked at her. She let out a snicker and bowed her head.

     “What, are you--are you still laughing about--”

     “Yeah, I am…”

_      “Stop it!” _

     Honey and Judy erupted into hysterics as Nick sank lower into his seat, bright red. He smacked his palm to his forehead and dragged it down across his face with a sigh.


	8. 01000101/01101001/01100111/01101000/01110100

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> >begin /Madge H. Badger/ background:

     The squad car pulled up to the front of the ZPD building. Judy stopped the car at the front stairs, right next to the ramp. She killed the engine and popped open the doors. Nick and Judy stepped out.

     “Wait,” Honey said from the back, “We’re stopping _here?_ ”

     “Yeah,” Nick said. “Is there a problem with that?”

     “Well, yeah…” Honey said. “How are we gonna get my computer?”

     Judy and Nick slowly exchanged a look.

     “Your computer?”

     “Yeah,” Honey said, “We’re gonna need to use a computer, right? I thought we were dealing with the BLO here.”

     “We are,” Judy said, “It’s just that we’ve got a whole tech lab inside, we can use those computers just fine--”

     “No no no no no, we can’t do that.”

     Judy darted her eyes to the side. “We--we _can’t?_ ”

     “No.”

     Nick raised an eyebrow. “Why not?” he asked.

     “We gotta use my computer,” Honey said. “It’s--it’s mine.”

     “Yeah, I--that’s what I was guessing. But--sorry--tell me again why we can’t just use--”

     “My computer has special programs and operating systems on it--” Honey recited, “--that allow it to do what it does. It doesn’t run like a normal computer, it’s different, it works _better_ . It has _my_ programs that _I_ made that are different than the ones you have, so we have to use mine. We have to.”

     Judy and Nick sighed. Judy gave a disdainful look at the station.

     “Alright,” Nick said, “If you insist…”

     Nick ducked back into the squad car and closed the door. Judy gestured to the ZPD HQ behind her.

     “Are-are you sure we can’t just--”

     “Weren’t you listening, Carrots?” Nick called, “We _have_ to.”

* * *

     The elevator doors slowly creaked open. Honey steered herself out and began to coast down the hallway. Judy and Nick trailed behind her. She looked at the numbers on the apartment doors one by one.

     “Oh Christ,” she said, “I haven’t been back here in years...I dunno if I remember which one...”

     “It’s alright,” Nick said, “You’re gettin’ close.”

     Honey slowly brought her wheelchair to a stop in front of door 324. She reached her hand up to knock, but hesitated. She looked back at Nick.

     “Yep,” Nick said, “Go ahead.”

     Honey raised her fist and gave the door a couple quick raps. The sound of footsteps approached. A deadbolt slid open, and the door unlatched, spilling light from the apartment  onto her. She threw her arms up theatrically.

     “What’s up, shortstop?”

     The door slammed shut, and the deadbolt clicked back into place. Honey looked back at Nick and Judy with an eyebrow raised. They stared back, stunned.

     Suddenly, a muffled ringtone sounded. Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He answered it.

     “Hey there little man, what’s happening?”

     Nick turned to Judy and mouthed ‘Finnick’. Judy nodded. Suddenly, Nick burst into a fit of laughter.

     “What?” Judy asked, “What is it?”

     Nick buried the receiver in his shoulder. “He thinks Honey broke out of jail,” he whispered, “He wants us to come get her.”

     Judy looked back over at Honey, slumped in her chair. Her chin rested in her paw, propped up on an armrest. She sighed.

     “No, she’s with us, don’t worry,” Nick said, walking towards the door, “Let us in, asshole.”

     Judy followed him. They stood behind Honey, waiting. Slowly, the deadbolt slid back open. The knob turned and the door slowly opened inwards.

     Finnick stood in the doorway, his phone to his ear and a stone-cold glare on his face. There was a silence.

     “Come in,” he growled.

     Finnick marched back inside. Honey pushed herself up and over the doorframe. Judy and Nick followed her in.

     Finnick’s apartment was practically smaller than him. It had a window, a mattress, a kitchenette more fit for a lemming, and a narrow door that lead to a 2’ by 3’ bathroom. A picture of graffiti on a large stone slab sat on the wall above his mattress.

     “Wow” Honey said, “This is nostalgic.”

     “What the hell are you guys doing here,” Finnick asked. “And with _her._ ”

     “Oh, well nice to see you too, asshole.”

     “We’re working on a case,” Nick said, “And we need her help, so she’s with us for a little while.”

     “Oh. How wonderful,” Finnick said. “That still doesn’t answer my question, though.”

     “I need my computer, dude,” said Honey. “Where did you put it.”

     “You’re joking, right? The fuzz took it when you got arrested.”

     “Not _that_ one, I knew they were gonna take that one, I meant the _backup_ one.”

     Finnick cocked his head.

     “The _what?_ ”

     “...You know...the one that I stashed in the closet, the one I specifically told you about before they took me away. _That_ one.”

     “W--What?”

     “C’mon, shorty,” Honey whined, “You know the one. The big silver Trunkman, the huge one. Made for elephants? I put it in your closet, you _watched_ me put it in your closet--"

     “Jesus, Bush-Head, that was three years ago, how do you expect me to--”

     Honey rolled over to the closet in the corner of the room. She grabbed the handle and threw it open. Inside was a mish-mashed pile of clothes, speckled with a couple old rock magazines. She began to empty the closet, tossing clothes over her shoulder.

     “Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

     “Where’d you put it, Finnick? Before I left it was right in here, where is it?”

     “Goddammit, I don’t--what was it again, Honey?”

     Honey groaned and turned around to face him.

     “A silver Trunkman. Just out of the package, brand new. I brought it up here and I put it--”

     “Yeah, you put it in the fuckin’ closet, I got that far Road-Rage. Listen, I don’t remember you putting…”

     Finnick suddenly fell silent. His eyebrows raised and his shoulders fell.

_“Oh.”_

     Honey turned around and leaned forward in her chair. She raised an eyebrow.

_“Oh?”_

     Finnick shrugged. “I was wondering what the hell that was.”

     “Where is it, Finnick?”

     “Ah, shit, Honey, I uh…”

     “Oh Christ, what did you do?”

     “I sold it.”

     Honey slammed her paws on her armrests, her eyes full of fire. _“You WHAT?!”_

     “Listen, Honey, it’s not like I expected you to barge in anytime soon, alright? It was a brand new computer. I took it to Oxley’s and they cleared it, it’s most likely been sold to someone else by now.”

     Honey turned back to Finnick’s closet with a roar. She began to strip it down, angrily muttering to herself. Nick caught a stray shirt from hitting him in the face.

     “Honey,” he said, “Were you listening? The computer’s gone, we’re gonna have to work with the ones back at the ZPD.”

     There was suddenly a loud thunk shortly followed by the clanking of metal. Honey leaned down and reached into a large toolbox that she had dragged out. She raised a wrench from it and palmed it with curiosity. She gave a satisfied look to Finnick.

     “What--what are you doing?”

     Honey reeled her arm back and hurled the wrench. Finnick ducked. The wrench went spiraling over his head and crashed into the framed picture over his mattress, sending shattered glass flying. Nick and Judy quickly dashed to Honey and restrained her by thr shoulders.

     “What the _fuck,_ Honey?!” Finnick yelled.

     “C’mon, Road-Rage, calm down--”

     "Get offa me, let go a’ me! I wasn’t aiming at him!”

     Judy and Nick eased their grip and looked at her. Honey glared at them.

     “You _weren’t?_ ”

 _“No!”_ she shouted. “Why the hell would I do _that?_ ”

     “Well, then--” Judy stammered, “--then why did you--”

     “I was aiming at the picture, Flopsy! Move!”

     Honey burst through them and barreled towards the painting on the wall. She tried to reach up and grab it. Nick walked over and began to take it off the wall. Honey slapped his arm away.

     “Stop it, _stop it!_ I got it…”

     Honey gave a sudden push off of her armrests, launching her torso a bit into the air. She yanked the picture off the wall and landed back in her chair. She tore her claws into the paper, slitting it open. She dug into it and pulled something out.

     “What the hell are you doing?!” Finnick shouted, “That’s _Street Rat,_ asshole!”

     Honey presented an orange USB drive above her head. The three of them stared at it.

     “What is that?” Nick asked.

     “My computer. Not in the format I was hoping for, though. I figured that something like this might’ve happened, so I had this as a backup plan. We just gotta get a laptop to put this on.”

     “Honey,” Nick said, “We can use _my_ laptop if you want, let’s just do it quickly.”

     “If we use yours, it’s gonna become _mine,”_ Honey said, “It’s not too easy to take what’s on here back off. If you’ll let me move your disc memory to another external drive you’ll be able to keep your stuff.”

     Nick shrugged. “Okay.”

     “So I can use your computer?”

     “Sure.”

     “Ya got it with you?”

     Nick gestured to the door. “It’s uh...it’s in the car still.”

     “Okay, go get it,” Honey said, “We’re doing this _here._ ”

* * *

     “If this isn’t done in an hour,” Finnick said from the hallway, “I’m smashing that damn computer.”

     Finnick slammed the door shut. Honey sat with Nick’s computer on the stove of the kitchenette, a large elephant keyboard from the electronics store down the street (Honey had explained that her cerebral palsy made it harder for her to type on a smaller keyboard) balanced across her lap. It was connected to Nick’s computer with a USB cord.

     Nick held the orange USB drive in his hand. He looked at Honey, who gave him a nod. He placed it into the port.

     The screen flickered alive. Script scrawled rapidly across the screen, pouring down the page. It expanded faster and faster, until finally, the screen went completely black except for a small blinking cursor in the top right corner. Honey typed in a quick stream of letters, numbers, and symbols. Suddenly, a simple green-gradient desktop popped up. Honey leaned back and stretched out her arms.

     “We are _in,_ folks,” she said. “So, whatcha have for me?”

     Nick pulled the note out of his pocket. _“This,”_ he said, placing it in her lap.

     Honey took a quick look at the letters in front of her. She scoffed. “Yep, this is the BLO alright,” she said, “Too easy, they always use this stupid code…”

     She opened a script box, typed in the letters, then entered a command with the number ‘13’ embedded. The script scrawled rapidly for a couple moments before spitting out a message at her.

**_take this as a warning_ **

     Judy took a deep breath. Honey chuckled.

     “Whoa, shit,” she said, “They are _pissed,_ dude. Why did I agree to do this again?”

     “Cause we’re hopeless without you,” Nick said, “Keep going.”

     Nick took the note from her and held it up to the light. The pinprick message appeared in the paper. Honey laughed and applauded.

     “Now _that’s_ what I’m talking about!” she said. “This just got interesting…”

     Honey minimized the script box and opened a browser. It wasn’t like any other browser Nick or Judy had seen before. It was black with a single text box in the middle, and there was no perceptible logo.

     “What’s _this?”_ Judy asked, “Why don’t we just use Zoofari?”

     “God, you’re so naïve,” Honey said, “It’s heartwarming. Listen, Flopsy, we aren’t gonna just sit on the surface like normal, okay? We’re going _deep web_ with this…”

     Honey entered the address into the searchbox. A single video popped up. It’s thumbnail contained the ink drawing of a moth.

     “That’s gotta be it,” Judy said, “That’s their mark.”

     “Yep,” said Honey, “Let’s take a look.”

     Honey clicked on the video and made it full screen. The screen was completely black. Nothing was happening. Nick and Judy looke at each other.

     “Is it...is it playing?”

     “Yeah,” Honey said, “I guess it just has a very empty intro--”

     Suddenly, an earsplitting electronic screech roared through the speakers of the laptop. The three of them quickly covered their ears in agony. Honey slammed the keyboard and muted it.

     “What the hell was _that?_ ” Judy asked.

     “We’re gonna need to take a look at this video in more detail later,” Honey said, “That's gotta be an audio code. Just let it play for right now to see if anything else appears.”

     They watched the black screen for a little while longer. Suddenly, an image popped up. It looked as if it was from the nightvision feed from a camera in the corner of someone’s room. The timestamp in the corner said 4:21 a.m.

     “Okay,” Nick said, “This just got creepy.”

     Suddenly, it flicked to normal vision. A trickle of moonlight sifted in through the window, sending shards of light across the bed. The mammal inside it breathed peacefully.

     Suddenly, the window slid open. Three large mammals slinked through it carefully. The last one carefully closed the window behind them. They slowly made their way towards the bed.

     “Turn on the volume,” Judy said.

     Honey unmuted it. Another high-pitched roar blared through the speakers. She quickly muted it again and cussed under her breath.

     “Nope. Still spellin’ something out.”

     They watched as the mammals slowly disappeared into the darkness near the bed. Suddenly, the mammal in bed sat up with a start. They fumbled at their bedside table and quickly put on their sleek, black, rectangular glasses…

     “Oh my god...is--is that--?”

     Wolford peered out into the darkness from his bed. His ears twitched on his head, his eyes darting back in forth. He shouted something out to the darkness. Suddenly, from behind him, a pair of paws holding a knife emerged from the darkness towards his neck.

     The video glitched and cut ahead. A shot of Wolford writhing on the bed, a knife prying through the front of his throat. Blood was spraying into the air.

     It glitched again. Someone clamping something to a post in the ceiling, Wolford being dragged by his arms out of the bed. His feet were still clumsily kicking and writhing as he sputtered blood from his mouth.

     Glitch. Wolford being thrown onto the hook by his chin, the silhouette of his feet kicking and flailing, then suddenly falling limp. The three figures quickly opened the window and disappeared. The window was carefully latched shut.

     The camera switched back into night vision. The wet, jagged point of the hook protruded from Wolford’s open mouth, covered in blood. It ran all the way down his front, his white shirt displaying the dark, fresh, pumping river with shocking contrast. The chasm in his neck hung open, the pulsing flow of blood slowing and weakening with his heart. His glasses sat askew on his face, and his tail hung limply. His feet slowly swayed back and forth above the floor, tracing a tiny little circle in the air.

     The video closed itself. The thumbnail in the search results stared back at the three of them. There was a long, painful silence. Honey carefully rubbed her eyes, letting out a gust of air.

     “Why did I decide to do this?” she asked, “Why the hell did I agree to this, I’m such a fucking idiot--”

     “Why was that necessary?” Judy asked, “Why did they--it’s like they’re playing some sort of sick _game_ with us.”

     “No, yeah, that’s the point,” Honey said, “This is a game...for them at least. This isn’t business, this isn’t profit, this is just sport. They had some free time on their hands and they used it to their advantage."

     “No,” Nick said, “Wolford was the one who first helped us with this. They picked him off because he knew too much.”

    “Why haven’t they gotten us, then?” asked Judy, “We were just as much of a target as Jamie was--”

    “I think they’re teasing you,” Honey said, “You know? It’s sort of like a _challenge_. They’re trying to lure you in.”

     “Well,” Nick scoffed, “They’re doing a pretty damn good job of it.”

     Honey right-clicked on the video, typed something in, then pressed enter. A sort of video editor opened up, showing each and every part of the video. It showed the footage that was used for it, and below it were an array of audio files. Honey scrolled down to give a better view.

     “Take a look at this.”

     Honey slowly scrolled to the right, showing the message formed by the soundbites. She slowly read it out.

      _‘...how...much...do...you...know..._ question mark.”

     Judy and Nick exchanged a look. Their brows furrowed.

     “Is that a rhetorical question?” Nick asked.

     “Knowing the BLO,” Honey said, “It’s definitely rhetorical. They stuff everything with overpacked symbolism and other metaphorical shit, it's ridiculous.”

     “How do you know so much about them?”

     Honey looked up at Judy with uncertain eyes. She let out a long sigh and folded her paws on the keyboard. She stared at the computer screen.

     “Well, I uh...I _worked_ for them at one point.”

     “You _worked for them?”_

     Honey sighed. “Yeah,” she said.

     “Why?" Judy asked, "What are they about?”

     “What are they trying to do?” asked Nick.

     Honey closed her eyes and raised a paw. Nick and Judy clamped their mouths shut. Honey slowly sighed.

     “I worked for them because of the same reason everyone else works for them.”

     “And what’s that?”

     “Blackmail.”

     Judy and Nick's eyes popped.

     “They blackmailed you?”

     “Yeah,” she said, “And they still are. At this point, it’s just to keep me quiet. I stopped working for ‘em four or five years ago.”

     “What are they blackmailing you about?”

     Honey turned to them and gave them a look.

     “Well,” she said, “If I told _you two,_ I’d wind up with a couple more decades in St. Bearitali’s...so if it's all the same to you, I’d rather not.”

     Judy’s ears drooped. Nick wiped his nose and averted his eyes.

     “Anyways, neither here nor there,” said Honey, “I was blackmailed, that’s all you need to know. That’s how everyone else ends up working for them. Either you’re blackmailed by them, or you don’t _know_ that you’re working for them.”

     “How would that work?” Judy asked.

     “You work for the people who work for them,” Honey explained. “For instance, Nicky, I bet you’ve worked for them in past, you probably had zero knowledge of it though. Probably supplied them with lumber, maybe even provided the food services.”

     Nick looked at Honey, shocked. Judy gave him a worried look. Honey sighed.

     “They’re working towards something called ‘The Project’,” said Honey, “Have no idea what it is, don’t know what it’s for, all I know is that it’s supposed to change the world. Absolutely revolutionary, apparently. All you really know about it is the job you’re supposed to perform to help take a step in the right direction. For a while I tracked and delivered different IP addresses, then I regulated emails between people. At one point, I was tasked in infiltrating a company’s computer server to implant a virus that would cause a slow and steady crumble in its defences. That’s all I was told to do, that’s all I really knew about it.”

     “So you have no idea who else works for them?” Judy asked.

     “Not fucking one. It could be _literally_ anybody.”

     Judy defeatedly tossed her paws in the air and began to pace the room. Nick cradled his chin in heavy thought. Honey shrugged.

     “I mean, I don’t know what else to tell you,” she said. “It’s not like I know everything about these guys, they’re really fucking good at keeping themselves hidden.”

      “Wait,” Nick said, “No no no, this is fine. ‘How much do we know?’ If you think about, we know a good amount. Dylan was obviously trying to warn us about The Project in some way. The BLO sent one of their own--Doctor Pantera--to eliminate one of the key witnesses. He was probably given the ring and ordered to commit suicide if captured.  Also, we have a pretty big lead.”

     Judy looked at him.

     “Who?” she asked.

     “Did we ever find out who the professor of those med students were? Because nobody ever said that it was Pantera.”

     Judy’s ears slowly raised. Her eyebrows shot up.

     “Oh my god, how could we _forget_ about that?!”

     “Listen, guys,” Honey said, “This is all really fuckin’ exciting and everything, but there’s one thing that we have to do first before we continue.”

     Nick and Judy turned to her. Their eyebrows raised.

     “And what would that be?” asked Nick.

     “Well, I’m fuckin’ starving. Can we at least get some lunch, first?”


	9. 01001110/01101001/01101110/01100101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> after the tone, please record your message. when you have finished recording, you may hang up or press "1" for more options.

     Honey took a ferocious bite into her second cicada burger. She wiped the grease from her lips with a napkin as she chewed. Nick sipped on a grasshopper shake, an unopen bag of cricket chips in front of him. He watched as Honey devoured the burger with incredible fervor. Judy quietly sat next to Nick with an uneaten salad.

     “Three years,” Honey mumbled, her mouth full, “ _Three fuckin’ years_ since I have had Bug-Burga. I can’t believe I survived without it.”

     “Knowing you,” Nick said, “You probably managed some way to get it.”

     “Surprisingly, no, actually. Bribing the guards didn’t work for _shit,_ just got me more months on my sentence.”

     Honey finished her burger one final bite. She took a couple sips from her cola, then glanced at Nick’s bag of chips. He waved a paw at them.

     “Go ahead.”

     Honey reached across the table and yanked them from Nick’s tray. She clamped her hands at the top of the bag, but her wrists trembled and her fingers fumbled with the plastic awkwardly. Nick held out his palm. Honey tossed them to him with a sigh. Nick quickly popped open the bag, tossed a chip into his mouth, then handed them back to Honey. He took a sip from his shake.

     “So…” Judy said, “You guys met in _college?_ ”

     Nick choked on his drink. Honey erupted in laughter. Nick slowly raised his napkin to his mouth and wiped away the tiny speckles of shake that peppered his lips.

     “I thought we agreed not to talk about this.”

     “No I’m not--I meant, like, _besides_ that. Like, how did you guys meet?”

     Honey looked at Nick, a smug grin appearing on her face. Nick looked at her and snickered.

     “She hit me in the head with a fursbee.”

_“What?”_

     “Yeah. Y’know Ultimate Fursbee?” Honey said, “I was obsessed with it my first year. One day in between classes, I was out on the field with some of my other friends who played--I used to have one of these things with all-terrain wheels on it, it was like wieldin’ a damn monster truck--but I tossed it a little high, and all of a sudden, we watch this poor fox with his nose in a book get fuckin’ clocked in the back of the head. He went down _immediately,_ man, I thought I fuckin’ killed him!”

     “To be fair, it was one of her off days,” Nick said, “She was one of the best Ultimate Fursbee players on campus.”

     "Eh, maybe  _second_ on a good day."

     Judy slowly nodded. “What were you two majoring in?”

     “Computer Science,” Honey said with an eyeroll, “You can see where that’s gotten me.”

     “Well,” Nick said, “I was on track for Business, for a while, but then I switched over Psychology, but then I just kinda…I don’t know.”

     “Wait,” Honey said, “I thought you dropped out. Didn’t you drop out?”

     “No, no, I did,” Nick said, “It just wasn’t really workin’ for me I guess.”

     “Wait, if you met only Nick from college,” Judy said, “Why do you live with Finnick?”

     Honey let out a guffaw. Fried grasshoppers flew across the table, one landing in Judy’s salad. She slowly pushed the tray away from herself.

     “I _don’t_ ,” she said, “He took my apartment when I got arrested, lil Shortstop was livin’ out the back of his van before then.”

     “They met each other through me,” Nick said, “I pranked her. At the end of senior year, I met her one night and brought him along with me, pretended he was my kit. She absolutely lost it.”

     “Well, how was I _supposed_ to react?! I get out of college to find you ‘settled down’ with some vixen and you got one a’ those little gremlins with ‘another one on the way’? I thought I was on a bad Nip trip, man!”

     “Wouldn’t have been the first,” Nick said with a smirk.

     Judy checked the time on her phone. It was 1:14.

     “We should finish up,” she said, “We gotta find this professor quickly.”

     Nick took another sip of his shake. “Who did Polka-Dots say we were after again?”

     “According to him,” Judy said, “Ms. Otterbein said that their teacher was named Dr. Zander Orshak. A Zebra, about six foot four, 130 pounds. We can find him in his office at the Growley School of Medicine. It’s on the campus of UNZ.”

 _“UNZ?”_ Honey asked, “Isn’t that like 45 minutes out from here?”

     “Exactly,” said Judy, “That’s why we should get going.”

* * *

     The peaceful, snow-blanketed campus of University of Northern Zootopia resided on the East End of Tundratown. It was pocketed in the middle of Haddockonee, at once a fishing village that had now evolved into a fresh college town. Surrounding the campus were miscellaneous record stores, clothing shops, and cutting-edge cafés and restaurants.

     Honey had a little bit of trouble navigating the St. Bearitali’s issued wheelchair over some of the snow-covered sidewalks, and resorted (defeatedly) to having Nick push her along the paths. As they made their way to the Growley building, they saw heavily coated mammals walking through the snow-covered quads, talking with friends or doing homework. A group of wolves and snow leopards cheered on a wide-eyed ferret as he went zipping down a hill on a makeshift snowboard. They winced when he crashed face-first into a bush.

     Nick carefully steered Honey up the ramp to the large, mid-century building labeled as the Growley School of Medicine. Judy followed behind, palming her badge in her pocket. They entered the large revolving doors into a lobby area, bathed in sunlight. There was a clumping of plush sofas and armchairs surrounding three to four small tables, reading lamps positioned over their shoulders. A couple mammals sat in them, silently working.

     “Um, excuse me?” Judy said.

     A spectacled jaguar looked up from his book.

     “Would you happen to know where Dr. Zander Orshak’s office is located?”

     The jaguar closed his book and darted his eyes about the room.

     “Uh,” he said, “It’s down the hall, the second door on the left--”

     The three of them began to walk towards the hallway. “Thank you--”

     “But-but he’s gone, though,” the Jaguar interrupted. “You'll have to catch him again later, I’m sorry.”

     Judy stopped in her tracks and looked back at the Jaguar.

     “He’s gone?”

     “Yeah. He’s on vacation for a month, he left two days ago…”

     Judy's brow furrowed. “Did he say where he was going?”

     The jaguar shook his head. “No. All he said was that it was some business trip. He comes back on the eighth.”

     Judy and Nick looked at each other. Honey sighed.

     “Welp,” she said, “That’s it I guess. Let’s go.”

     “Wait,” Nick said, “Is there any way we can reach him?”

     “I-I mean...he doesn’t really like giving his contact information out to anyone but his students, so…”

     Judy reached into her pocket and pulled out her badge, flicking it open. Nick produced his as well. The Jaguar’s eyes widened.

     “B-But he has an email,” he stammered, “And I think I might have his number.”

* * *

_“You have reached the phone of Dr. Zander Orshak. I am currently on a business trip, and I will not be able to contact anyone until I return on the twenty-third. Please leave a message, and I will call you back when I return to Zootopia. Thank you.”_

_“After the tone, please record your message. When you have finished rec--”_

     Judy angrily hung up. She brought her phone down from her ear and placed it on top of the leathered padding of her seat. She angrily placed her paw on the steering wheel and glared out the windshield, watching the snowy peaks of Tundrawtown fly past her. Nick scrolled through his phone in the passenger seat as Honey typed away on her computer in the back. Judy sighed.

     “Have you emailed him?”

     “...Yeah,” Nick said, “But I just got an automated response about how he’s on vacation.”

     “What’s it say?”

     “ ‘You have reached the email of Dr. Zander Orshak. I am currently on a business trip, and I will not’--”

     “Okay, I get it. He’s out of town, can’t contact people.”

     “Yeah,” Nick said. “He’s hiding.”

     “Yeah. He _knows_. What do you think his involvement in this is?”

     Nick shrugged. “Maybe he’s the head of it?”

     “Really?” she asked.

     “I don’t know,” Nick said, “He could be, he couldn’t be, I’m just thinking out loud.”

     “What was the kid’s name again?” Honey called from the back seat. “The tiger kid’s? Danny? Darin? I’m looking him up.”

     “It’s Dylan,” Judy said, “We couldn’t find anything about him anywhere, though, so there’s not much of a point”

     “Oh, I’ll find something,” Honey said.

     The sounds of her keyboard echoed from the back. Nick and Judy stared out the window as they crossed the border of Tundratown into Savannah Central. Suddenly, a familiar sound echoed from the back.

 _“Greetings, citizens of Zootopia._ _I apologize for the interruption, but I have some very important news that I’d like to share with you all.”_

     Nick turned in his seat and looked back at Honey. Judy glanced back as well. Honey smiled at them.

     “Found it.”

      Judy listened as the voice continued through Honey’s computer. She had forgotten how deep and distorted the filter had made Dylan’s voice sound. He sounded so confident. So _intimidating_ and _scary_ behind that mask _._ She would have never imagined the frightened young tiger hiding behind it.

     Honey gasped from the back seat.

     “Oh my god, he’s so _young_ …”

 _“I must say this quickly,_ _because I do not have much time. I hope you’re all paying attention.”_

     Judy heard the fluttering of paper, followed by Dylan reciting the code. Honey quickly began typing over Dylan’s voice.

     “Oh my god,” she said, “Oh my _god,_ this is genius.”

     “What is?”

     “He’s using the perfect type,” Honey said, “It’s a leading letter code, it’s hidden in plain sight. Just complicated enough to go unnoticed at first, but just simple enough to decipher later. He bought himself a lot of time with this. Holy shit, he’s a fucking genius.”

     She typed some more. She read the message under her breath while Dylan echoed in the background.

     “... _stop them before..._ wait, what? Why did he…?”

     “Why did he _what?_ ”

     “He-- _what?_ He wasted so much time on--‘stop them before it’s too late’, that took up so much time but said so little. ‘M H are back’ is reasonable, but--Why the hell would he do that?”

     “Yeah,” Nick said, “You’re right, I noticed that.”

     “There’s gotta be something else here,” Honey said, “He’s trying to say something more, he has to be.”

     The gun went off. Honey gasped. There was a long silence.

     “Oh my god...he actually--”

     “Yeah,” Judy said sullenly, “Yeah, he did. This is _real_ , Honey.”

     “Yeah, no shit,” said Honey. “Hold on, I’m gonna delve into this code some more.”

     Honey began to type away at her computer. Nick turned around in his seat to face her through the metal grate.

     “What are you doing to it?”

     “Running it through some programs. Seeing if it’s scrambled in anyway, see if it’s an anagram, a bunch of other things,” she said, “Should probably take, like, ten minutes if I brute force it.”

     Honey pressed enter and leaned back, placing her paws behind her head. Judy glanced back at her.

     “You really think there’s something else in there?”

     “There has to be,” Honey said, “Either that or this kid is just... _stupid_.”

     “What could these guys be doing?” Nick asked. “Why did they have you hack into a corporate server?”

     “I told you, I have no idea,” Honey said, “I was just doing as I was told, I wasn’t supposed to question anything.”

     “What was it that you did, exactly?” Judy asked.

     “I inserted a trojanhorse/automated rootkit combo into the infrastructure.”

     Nick raised his eyebrows. “In English, please?”

     Honey sighed.

     “I sent in a rootkit, a piece of programming that lets you access a system and go through it undetected. However, I also posed it as a pop-up software update. When you click ‘accept’ it gives permission for the rootkit to enter the system. It went through and infected all of the security software, leaving it defenseless to any person who wished to gain access. No password, no account, no nothing. All you had to do was just pop in and do as you please.”

     “What company was it?” Judy asked.

     “I-I dunno, I don’t remember, it was forever ago.”

     “Is there any way you can go back on your computer and trace what you did?” Nick asked.

     “I mean...yeah, but I’d have to go through a lot of shit to get there. I mean, that was like, five years ago. Even with automatic scrolling and search organization it would take me days, maybe even _weeks_ before I find anything.”

     Judy let out a gust of air. “So there’s no way to look it up within the next hour or so?”

     “No,” Honey said, “It’s impossible.”

     Honey's computer made a noise. She looked down at it and scoffed.

     "What is it?" Judy asked.

     "It says that it didn't find anything," Honey said, "Y'know, in Dylan's message. I still think that's bullshit. I know that there's something there that we aren't seeing."

     Judy’s phone began to buzz. She quickly picked it up and answered it.

     “Offi--Detective Hopps, ZPD, how may I help you?”

 _“Hopps,”_ Bogo’s voice crackled through the receiver, _“Where are you right now?”_

     “I’m about to cross over into Savannah Central from Tundratown, sir,” Judy said, “I’m at the border as we speak.”

_“Is Wilde with you?”_

     “Yes, he’s in the car with me. We also have the enlisted help with us as well.”

     “Oh, is _that_ what I’m called?”

 _“Good,”_ Bogo said. _“We need you back at the station as soon as possible.”_

     “Why?” asked Judy, “Is something wrong?”

_“This case is much larger than we first imagined, too large for two rookie detectives to handle on their own. You need help."_

"Okay," Judy said, "What have you got for us?"

 _"We’ve assigned you another member from outside the precinct,"_  Bogo said, _"We’d like you to meet them.”_


	10. 01010100/01100101/01101110

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> moonharvest85: 1n th3 w4ll 1n th3 w4ll 1n th3 w4ll 1n th

     Judy, Honey, and Nick sat at the conference room table in an anxious silence. They listened to the slow, monotonous ticking of the clock on the wall. Clawhauser had said that Chief Bogo was to join them momentarily, but he had yet to show up. Honey let out a gust of air.

     “Just watch,” she said, “It’s gonna be some bushy-tailed college kid who thinks he knows how to code. Thinks just because he hasn’t done time means he knows better. Fuckin’ prick.”

     “Why would they do that?” Judy said, “We don’t need another techie, we have you.”

     “My money’s on a secret agent or something,” Nick said, “Some sort of Tames Bond type, y’know? That’d be fun.”

     The door opened, revealing a very withered Bogo. His bloodshot eyes were framed with dark, heavy bags, and his walk was filled with fatigue. With a sigh, he collapsed in the chair across from them. He rubbed his eyes absentmindedly.

     “I apologize for the delay,” he grumbled, “I was just finishing up some paperwork.”

     “Are you alright, Chief?” Nick asked, “It looks like you just came back from the grave.”

     Bogo glared at him.

     “It’s been a long 48 hours,” he growled.

     “You’ve been awake this whole time?” asked Judy.

     Bogo gave her a cold stare. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Hopps,” he said, “But things have been quite a stunt since the incident. Mammals have been dropping like _flies_ around here. Fortunately, we haven’t been bombarded by the press, like we usually are, but _that_ is a problem in itself.”

     “Well, _‘course_ there’s no press coverage,” Honey said, “The BLO probably runs half of the media.”

     Bogo looked over at Honey. He raised an eyebrow.

     “How do you know?” he asked, “Do you know _who_?”

     “Well, I mean...I can’t name any names or anything, but, I know they have a pretty big influence. It’s obvious.”

     Bogo stared at her, processing. Suddenly, he sat up and cleared his throat.

     “I don’t believe I’ve properly introduced myself,” he said. “Chief Bogo, head of ZPD precinct one. You must be...Ms. Badger?”

     “Just--just Honey,” she said, shaking his hoof across the table, “Pleasure.”

     “Mine as well,” Bogo said. “Now, order of business…”

     He placed his elbows onto the table and leaned forward, clasping his hooves together. He sighed.

     “We’re bringing in an agent from T.U.S.K. to help you on this case,” Bogo said. “Not only has he had years of field experience, but he has also been tracking this organization for at least two years. He’s going to lead you two in taking them down.”

_“Lead_ us?” Judy asked, “I thought this was _our_ case, we--we don’t need a babysitter--”

     “Don’t be so _modest_ , Hopps,” Bogo snarled. “I may have been swamped in paperwork these past two days, but I still have yet to fill out the documents that change your job status. According to the records, you two are still _officers._ The fact that I am even allowing you two to take this case is a miracle in itself, so _do not get cocky._ ”

     Judy sat in silence, her ears drooping. Nick glanced at her with a furrowed brow. He cleared his throat and turned to Bogo.

     “Does this mean I still need to follow officer dress code, or…”

     Bogo’s eyes flared with fury. Just as he raised an angry finger, there was a knock at the door. Bogo inhaled and slowly stood up, glaring at Nick.

     “I’ll deal with _you_ later,” he said, walking towards the door.

     As he walked away, Nick leaned over and whispered into Judy’s ear.

     “Totally called the whole agent thing, by the way.”

     The door opened. Bogo suddenly stood up straight and smiled.

     “What timing,” he sang, “Please, come in…”

     Bogo stepped away from the door to reveal a small grey rabbit, no older than 35. He was wearing a nicely tailored suit with a neatly tied crimson necktie. A badge was hanging from a white lanyard around his neck, a photo of him in the top left corner. The black markings on his cheeks stretched upwards towards the back of his head, giving his face a sleek and refined look. He surveyed the room and gave a gentle smile.

     Honey’s jaw hit the floor.

     “Detectives, I’d like you to meet Mr. Jack Savage, Agent of T.U.S.K.,” Bogo said, “He will be helping you on your case.”

     “I apologize for the tardiness,” Jack said, “It took us a while to find the helipad.”

     Judy’s eyes popped. “You came here in a _helicopter?”_

     “Unfortunately, yes. I prefer staying a little closer to the ground, but T.U.S.K. insisted…”

     “Mr. Savage has generously agreed to assist us in this case,” Bogo said, “Why don’t we give him the generosity of introducing ourselves?”

     Judy and Nick pushed their chairs out from the table and quickly jumped to their feet. Judy stuck out her paw.

     "Judy Hopps,” she blurted, “ZPD.”

     “Nick, Nick Wilde, uh...ZPD.”

     “Detective Hopps, Detective Wilde...nice to finally meet you both.”

     Jack shook their hands and smiled. Judy and Nick nervously smiled back. After a moment, Jack looked over at Honey.

     “And, uh...and who might you be?”

     Honey stuck out her paw, a wide-eyed grin spreading across her face.

_“Honey,”_ she said, _“It’s a pleasure.”_

     “She’s our tech expert,” Judy said, “She’s been helping us on the case.”

     “Oh,” said Jack, “Well, nice to meet you. Glad to have you on the case.”

     He shook her hand. Honey held on a little longer than necessary. Nick gave her a nudge and she let go. Jack chuckled awkwardly.

     “I’ll leave you all to work,” Bogo said, “I have some more _paperwork_ to go through…”

     Bogo exhaustedly closed the door behind him. Jack placed his paws on the table and leaned forward.

     “So,” he said, “Let’s talk about this. How much do you know? Just so I can get a good bearing on where to go from here.”

     “Well,” Judy said, “We know that the BLO is a secret organization that is working towards an end goal called ‘The Project’. They’re spread throughout the whole of Zootopia, if not the country.”

     “Dylan Fangmyer broadcasted an emergency message through every available media outlet before committing suicide, live,” Nick said. “He was a whistleblower; he warned us to ‘stop them’, supposedly the BLO, and that ‘M. H. is back’. We don’t know who or what ‘M. H.’ is, but since his death, his parents have gone missing, his sister was almost killed, and one of our fellow officers who had been helping us on the case was murdered.”

     “Also,” Judy said, “A doctor who had been suspected in involvement with the organization committed suicide before we could question him fully.”

     “Dr. Julian Pantera, wasn’t it?” Jack asked.

     “Yeah,” Nick said. “Poisoned himself in the interrogation room.”

     “Yeah, we had our eye on him for a while,” Jack said, “Had shown some small connections with the society since about a year ago, but nothing large enough to convict him on. The incident of the attempted lobotomy was all we needed to confirm his involvement.”

     “How long has this group--the BLO, how long have they been around?” Judy asked.

     “About six years,” Jack said. “It started with one hacker, a sort of ‘white knight’ if you will, under the screenname ‘moonharvest85’.”

     “Oh shit,” Honey said, “I remember hearing about them, they were on hundreds of forums that I read up on a couple years ago. They actually _were_ the head of the BLO?”

     “Yes,” Jack said. “They started hacking into people’s personal accounts on different dating sites, social media, any accessible page that provided personal information. They would find some sort of illegal or immoral information about them, and would blackmail them into joining the organization. That’s how they built it.”

     “moonharvest,” Judy said, “M. H.”

     “Exactly,” Jack said, “After a couple years, moonharvest85 went off the radar. Dylan was trying to tell us that they had returned.”

     “Why did they drop off the face of the earth all of a sudden?” asked Nick, “Did they take a vacation or something?”

     “You can say that,” Jack chuckled, “We thought we had caught the mammal behind the it. We got an IP address that lead to the apartment of a mammal named Barry DiCaprio. We locked him up, put him on high security, thought we had killed the whole organization.”

     “Well, I don't know about you, but it still seems pretty alive to me,” Nick said, “What happened?”

     “Well, there’s three different things that could be happening,” Jack said. “Firstly, someone could’ve gotten the account information for moonharvest85. Either that, or moonharvest85 is more than one mammal, possibly multiple mammals working under the same pseudonym and account.”

     “Okay,” Honey said, “What’s the third option?”

     “Well, I didn’t consider this until very recently,” Jack said, “But the real moonharvest85 could’ve _framed_ DiCaprio. They could’ve easily entered a fake IP that lead to his address instead of the real one.”

     “So DiCaprio may not even be involved _at all?”_ Judy asked.

     “Correct,” Jack said, “But we can’t say for sure.”

     “Well shit,” Honey said, “So you just got him locked up in there and you don’t even know if he’s _guilty?”_

     “Again,” Jack said, “We can’t say for sure. For the time being, it’s safest to keep him in our custody.”

     “What about Dr. Zander Orshak?” Judy asked, “Have you been keeping tabs on him?”

     “Just like Pantera,” Jack said, “We haven’t been able to pin a lot on him in the past months, but we do have him under heavy surveillance. We know that he does have some sort of involvement with the BLO.”

     “Okay, if you have him under heavy surveillance," Nick said, "Do you know where he is? _”_

     “On his annual ‘vacation’,” Jack sighed. “Unfortunately, he always leaves his devices at home, so there’s absolutely no way to track him. He’s managed to disappear each year, and we’ve never been able to find where he goes. We’ve seen him arrive at Zootopia Grand Central at 9:30 each time, but we never see which train he gets onto.”

     “So what you’re saying is,” Judy said, “You’ve been working on this case for two years, yet you have little to no leads.”

     “Actually, we have plenty of leads,” Jack said, “They’ve all just come to a dead end so far. The Fangmyer incident gives new potential to the case. Speaking of which, do you have the video?”

     Honey looked to Nick. He reached down into his briefcase and pulled out the laptop. He placed it on the table and turned it towards Jack. Jack reached forward and pressed play.

_“Greetings, citizens of Zootopia._ _I apologize for the interruption, but I have some very important news that I’d like to share with you all.”_

There was a beat as Dylan began to take off his mask. Jack raised a paw.

   “Pause it.”

     Nick quickly paused the video. Jack twisted the monitor towards them. Dylan's mask was halfway off.

     “Look right at the bottom corner of the mask,” Jack said, “See that?”

     Printed on the bottom edge of Dylan’s mask was a crudely written message.

_a=n, 13_

     “What does that mean?” Judy asked.

     “It’s the key to the BLO’s code,” Honey said. “A equals N, 13 between them. You start with the letter given and count forward 13 letters in the alphabet, that’s how you write the code. He was trying to help us out.”

     “Exactly,” Jack said. “Keep going.”

     Nick pressed play.

_“I must say this quickly,_ _because I do not have much time. I hope you’re all paying attention.”_

     There was the rustling of paper as Dylan grabbed the message from offscreen. Jack quickly paused the video.

     “Look. Right there.”

     Jack pointed at the top corner of the paper. Dylan was in the process of placing in front of him, and he was holding it straight up in front of the camera. Another message was written.

_va gur jnyy_

     “Va gur jnyy?” Nick said, “Is that in the ‘13’ code?”

     “Quick,” Judy said, “Gimme a piece of paper.”

     Nick reached into the briefcase and pulled out a pad of paper. Judy reached into the penholder across the table and grabbed a pencil. She grabbed the paper from Nick and furiously began writing.

     “Okay, so...we’d be going _backwards,_ so ‘v’ equals...u, t, s, r…”

     Judy began to write the letters one by one. Honey, Jack, and Nick watched her intently as she computed the code. Their eyes began to widen as the message slowly appeared in front of them.

**_in the wall_ **

     “In the wall!” Judy shouted, “He hid something in the wall!”

     “Jesus Christ, there’s our lead.” Nick said. “What could he have managed to fit in there?”

     “Well,” said Jack, “There’s only one way to find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna take a second to thank you guys for the support you've been giving this story. This has grown so much bigger than I could've imagined, and I'm absolutely floored by the kind words I've been receiving. I apologize for the irregular posting schedule. I'm going into my senior year of high school, so I am EXTREMELY busy with college apps, AP work, and all sorts of other stuff. I'm trying to pump this stuff out as fast as I can.
> 
> Also, if you have a tumblr, give me a follow @judys-carrot-pen to see extra content on this story that I can't format here on ao3. This includes images and even the occasional video. Again, thank you all so much for the support, and may you never forget how much you know.
> 
> ac super caput tuum,  
> -JudysCarrotPen


	11. 01000101/01101100/01100101/01110110/01100101/01101110

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> >lovgate.F successfully duplicated  
> >lovgate.F successfully duplicated  
> >lovgate.F successfully duplicated  
> >lovgate.F successfully duplicated  
> >lovgate.F successfully duplicated  
> >lovgate.F successfully duplicated  
> >lovgate.F succes|

     The Fangmyer’s house was completely lined with police tape, a chainlink fence set up around the perimeter. The sun was slowly setting behind the trees as the squad car pulled up. The four hopped out of the car and walked towards the gate. Judy took a key out of her pocket and unlocked the chain around the hinges.

     “After you,” she said.

     “Ladies first,” Jack said.

 _“Exactly,”_ Nick murmured into Honey’s ear. She snickered.

     Judy walked through the gate into the driveway, Jack following close behind. Nick helped Honey up and over the bar of the gate before setting her loose. They walked up the front porch to the front door as Judy reached a paw into her pocket. Suddenly, her ears fell to her sides. She began to frantically pat herself down.

     “Uh oh.”

     “What?”

     “Nick, did you get the key from Clawhauser?”

     “No, I thought _you_ got it.”

     Judy groaned. Jack calmly pushed past her and walked up to the front door. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a long, flat, metal case. It had a slight curve to the middle, and it was about the size of his torso. He opened it, revealing an extensive array of tools and instruments.

     “What the fresh hell is _that?”_

     “T.U.S.K. commissioned Break-and-Enter kit,” Jack said over his shoulder to Honey, “Travel Edition. For breaking into criminal’s houses, safes, strongboxes, etcetera. Fits right in your shirt unnoticed...also doubles quite well as a bulletproof vest, I’ve learned.”

     He took out a metal rod and hook. He closed the case and slid it back into his jacket. He kneeled down, stuck the hook and rod into the lock, and then began to carefully move them around inside.

     “I thought you were an agent, Savage,” Nick said, “Where did you learn how to lockpick?”

     “You’d be surprised at the kind of stuff they’ll teach you at the T.U.S.K. academy,” Jack said.

     The door popped open. Jack calmly stood up and walked inside. Judy, Nick and Honey followed him in.

     The living room looked exactly as it had a day ago. The floor was still covered in shattered glass and pieces of newspaper, the curtains hanging by the threads. Honey carefully steered around the pieces of debris.

     “You know, wheelchair parkour should be a thing,” she said, “You can’t even begin to imagine the shit I have to pull in this thing sometimes.”

     Judy lead the group to Dylan’s door. She carefully pushed it open. They quietly filed into his room, surveying the wreckage. The bed was still on its side, the sheets completely ripped from the mattress. His desk was practically a pile of drawers and planks strewn on the floor. Nick put his hands on his hips.

     “Okay,” he said, “Which wall are we looking for here?”

     Jack reached into his jacket and pulled out his case. “Well,” he said, “Let’s listen.”

     He reached in and took out a clump of stethoscopes. He tossed a pair to Nick. Nick haphazardly caught them, inches away from his nose. Jack handed another pair to Judy. She smiled.

     “Thanks.”

     They placed the prongs in their ears. Jack placed the diaphragm against the wall and began to lightly knock against it with his knuckles. Nick and Judy watched him for a moment, then tentatively followed suit. Honey began to look about the room.

     “Oh, _shit_ dude...I didn’t know this guy was a Fur Fighters fan…”

     Judy looked over to see Honey tugging at the edge of a poster on the wall. Nick turned to Jack with a sigh.

     “What exactly are we listening for, here?” he asked.

     Jack turned around and pulled out the earbuds. “What?”

     “I said, what are we listening for? How do we know we found whatever we’re looking for.”

     “It won’t echo,” Jack said, “If it’s not in a straight line like one of the beams--if there’s a dead space in the middle of a hollow area, then there’s something in there.”

     “Like this?”

     Nick and Jack turned to Judy. She was lightly knocking on the wall, her stethoscope pressed firmly against the wallpaper. Jack walked over and placed his diaphragm above hers. Judy pulled away.

     “No no, knock. Go ahead.”

     Judy tentatively knocked on the wall. Jack placed his stethoscope around the space Judy identified. After a moment, he nodded and lowered the stethoscope.

     “Yep,” he said, “There it is. Nice job, Detective.”

     Jack reached into his case and pulled out a small instrument with a circular blade  attached to the end of it. He pressed a button and it whirred to life. The other three jumped.

     “Christ,” Honey said, “What kind of shit do you _have_ in there?”

     Jack began to carve a rectangle into the wall. It easily popped open, revealing a tape covered seam that had been painted over. Jack traced the shape and pushed through the tape. He carefully pulled the chunk of drywall out, revealing a small cavern inside. Jack reached inside and gingerly pulled out a USB drive.

     “There we go, Honey,” Nick said, “Today is just non-stop for you, huh?”

* * *

     Jack, Nick and Judy carefully watched over Honey’s shoulder as she cleared space on her computer for the data input. The dimly lit conference room was thrown into a blueish light by the screen of the laptop. Honey’s fingers were tearing across the keyboard, clicking and dragging things left and right across the screen. Nick turned to Jack.

     “So uh...how long have you been working with T.U.S.K., huh?”

     Jack’s ears perked up. He cleared his throat.

     “Uh, ten years,” he said.

     “Wow,” Judy said, “What kind of training did that take?”

     “Eighteen years of it,” Jack said, “You start when you’re seven, you finish at twenty-five.”

     “Jesus,” Nick said, “That’s gotta take some crazy endurance, huh?”

     “Uh...yeah...yeah, it does.”

     “Alright,” Honey said, “I’m ready when you guys are.”

     Jack reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the USB, then carefully inserted it into the computer. Everyone watched as script began to rapidly fill the window that Honey had open. Honey, scanning her eyes across the screen, began to mutter under her breath.

     “Wait a second, wait a second, this isn’t…”

     Suddenly, the screen glitched and froze, a repetitive clicking popping through the speakers.

     “No, _no, NO! FUCK!”_

     Honey quickly tore out the USB and tossed it on the ground. She began rapidly typing on her keyboard as the screen flashed in and out. Strings of text sprawled across the screen, overlapping patches of script in miscellaneous configurations. The speakers emitted different tones and roars. Honey hit the laptop angrily.

     “What?!” Judy shouted, “What’s happening?!”

     “No, _no, fuck you, STOP_ it!”

     “Honey, what _is_ it?!”

     “It’s a virus,” Honey said, “I just downloaded a _fucking_ virus onto my computer! Goddammit, I--”

     Honey angrily slammed the computer again with her fist, causing Judy to jump. Nick gently held her shoulder. Jack quickly pushed past them and placed himself above Honey’s shoulder.

     “What kind is it?”

     “I don’t fucking know, just _shut up_ for a second!”

     Honey minimized the javascript box, moved it to the side, and began to navigate her desktop. She opened up a document folder and began to scroll through. She quickly opened one, revealing scrambled pieces of words that were slowly disappearing through the page.

_“FUCK! It’s a fucking overwrite, it’s an OVERWRITE!”_

     “What, what’s an overwrite?!” Nick shouted.

     “It completely wipes your files,” Jack said, “It corrupts and deletes all the content inside them but doesn’t change the file size. That means that she’s probably got hundreds of empty documents and programs right now that are masquerading as fully functional.”

     “Okay, Bunny Boy, you’re cuter when you’re _silent_!”

     Honey quickly opened her hard drive, revealing a large list of files. She began to quickly scroll through them and read the names off to herself. Judy and Nick watched intently. Suddenly, Honey stopped and highlighted one file.

 

_lovgate.F_

 

     “Ha _ha! Fuck_ you!”

     Honey quickly deleted the file. The screen jittered and flashed, the list of files melting to the right. Honey screamed.

     “What?! What happened?!”

     “It’s still here! Something’s--FUCK!”

     Honey began to type in a frenzy. The screen went bezerk, flashing different webpages and programs before fading into each other. Jack placed a paw on her shoulder.

     “Do you think it’s a worm, maybe?”

     “If it’s a fucking worm, I might as well just go ahead and toss myself off a roof.”

     Honey opened up her javascript again. She began to refresh it over and over, a phrase beginning to repeat on the screen.

_ >lovgate.F duplicated _

_ >lovgate.F duplicated _

_ >lovgate.F duplicated _

 

     “Oh, fucking _perfect._ ”

     “Is it a worm?” Judy asked.

     “You bet your ass it is, hold on...”

     She began to type into the javascript, attempting to delete the duplicated files. The virus continued to replicate itself; whenever Honey had deleted one, two more appeared. Suddenly, she raised her paws from the keyboard.

     “Wait a second,” she said, “Holy shit, lemme try something.”

     Honey quickly typed something into the javascript, and the screen suddenly flashed. With a pop, all of the flashing and glitching stopped. A single phrase blinked at the top of the box.

 

_ >lovgate.F successfully aborted _

_ >delete? Y/N _

 

     Honey sat back in her chair and sighed. Judy and Nick looked at her, shocked.

     “What did you do?” Judy asked.

     “I entered the abort code.”

     “The _abort code_?” Nick asked.

     “A lot of times, viruses will have an abort code, that--if you _know_ it _,_ you can automatically stop the program when you enter it. It then gives you the option to delete it or not.”

     “It’s usually created by the programmer,” Jack said, his brow furrowed. “How did you know what it was?”

     “Y’know, I had a hunch,” Honey said, “And this just confirmed it.”

     “And what was that?” Nick asked.

     “I had a feeling that this wasn’t Dylan who did this,” Honey said, “So I tried entering the BLO’s abort code. They gave it to me when I first became a part of it, it’s what all of their programs use.”

     “So...” Judy stammered, “So this is…”

     “The BLO got whatever was in Dylan’s wall before we did,” Jack said with a sigh. “They left us this as a little present, it seems.”

     Honey clicked ‘N’ on her keyboard.

 

_ >lovgate.F successfully deleted _

 

     She closed the javascript box, revealing an open document on her desktop. The image of an ink-drawn moth sat above a small phrase in latin, a monogram at the top. Judy and Nick sighed.

     “Yep,” Nick said, “That’s them alright.”

 _“ac super caput tuum,”_ Jack read, “ ‘over your head and under your nose’. That’s their motto.”

     “Jesus Christ. How pretentious can you get, right?”

     Honey began to sift through her different files and programs. As she opened them one by one, she let out a slow groan. All of them were corrupted.

     “Is there any way you can fix all of this?” Judy asked.

     “Yeah,” Honey said, “I’ll just have to go through them all individually and recode them. It’s gonna take me a little while.”

     “How long?” Nick asked.

     “Five to six hours, probably.”

     Jack stood up and rubbed his neck. Judy and Nick gave each other a disdainful look. Judy sighed.

     “Well, Agent Savage...what do we do now?”

     Jack stared into the darkness, lost in thought. After a moment, he turned to them.

     “I think that we should call it a day.”

     Nick and Judy looked at each other. “Really?” Nick asked.

     “Yeah,” Jack said, “I need some time to think. I’m sure you do as well. Plus, Honey needs to work on getting her programs back up and running, right?”

     Honey looked up at him.

     “Yeah, yeah, I’m gonna be doing this for a while…”

     Jack slowly made his way to the door, straightening his tie. He turned back towards them and gave a smile.

     “I’ll see you all tomorrow. Get some sleep.”

     He quietly exited the room.

     Honey slumped in her chair and let out a moan, rubbing her paws over her face.

     “My _god,_ I need me a piece of that…”

     “He seems nice,” Nick said, “A little detached, but maybe that’s just part of his professional air.”

     “I don’t know how to feel about him,” Judy said. “Something about him weirds me out.”

     “What?” Nick asked, “I thought he seemed okay.”

     “I don’t know,” Judy said, “He just seems sort of... _off._ ”

     “...Okay? Do you mean--” Nick said, “Do you mean, like... _spectrum-y?”_

     “What? No! That’s not what I--don’t say that, that’s not--”

     “Shit, you’re right. Sorry.”

     “I like his form,” Honey said, “Did you see his ass? Like... _shit,_ dude. It was fucking _toned._ Like a fucking sports car, man.”

     “Okay, I think we get it, Bush-Head.”

     Nick walked over to the computer and began to help her pack it up. Honey let out a cry of protest.

     “We’re movin’ you, Road-Rage,” he said, “You can do this on your own tonight.”

     “You guys are lettin’ me spend the night on my own?” she asked excitedly, “Really?”

     “Yeah,” Judy said, “Over-night cell downstairs.”

     “Ugh, god, seriously?”

     “Don’t worry,” Nick said, “We got a mattress and pillow down there for you. We got an outlet down there for the computer charger, we’ll let you use the staff restrooms, and you won’t have any roommates tonight. Anything you need, we shall give you, you are royalty, etcetera.”

     Honey rolled her eyes. “I’m flattered, Nicky.”

     “Good,” Nick said, “Don’t get used to it.”

     Nick grabbed the back of her chair and began to push her towards the door. Judy watched as they bickered playfully back and forth. She picked up Honey’s computer and placed it under her shoulder, the attachable keyboard sticking out awkwardly. As she followed them out, she thought about the way Jack had been acting. He had seemed so quiet and distant with them. It almost seemed like he had been hiding something.

     It’s not like Judy hadn’t heard of T.U.S.K. before. They were the most prominent agent organization in the country. She had remembered reading action books about them, seeing countless spy movies in which they appeared, and she had constantly heard the stories about how they served and protected their country’s security. It’s not like he was lying to them about it--Bogo wouldn’t have gotten a fake agent from a fake organization.

     But something about Jack Savage put Judy slightly on edge.

* * *

     Judy stumbled into her apartment and tossed her keys onto the table. Nick loosened his tie and threw it on the coathanger with a sigh.

     “You sure it’s alright if I stay over again?”

     “What, are you kidding? We’re practically roommates at this point.”

     Judy unzipped her uniform and rolled it down over her legs. She walked over to her closet and pulled out a pair of pajama pants and an old t-shirt.

     “Hey, Carrots, pass me my shirt?”

     Judy grabbed Nick’s t-shirt from the bed and tossed it to him. He caught it and threw it over his head. He picked up his pajama pants from the floor and slid them on. He rubbed his paws over his eyes as he slowly trudged over to Judy’s bed. He flopped down on top of the mattress. Judy chuckled.

     “Me too, bud.”

     Judy suddenly landed on the mattress next to him, sending Nick bouncing a tiny bit into the air. He laughed as he gently fell back down. He gave Judy a playful shove, sending her into hysterics. They lay on the bed for a while, wheezing.

     Judy wiped the tears from her eyes with a sigh. She listened to Nick’s quick, haughty breaths next to her, feeling him bounce through the mattress. She let out a snicker.

    “Really? It wasn't  _that_ funny...”

     She rolled over to face him. Her smile disappeared when she saw Nick’s face.

     He was bawling. His paw rested over his eye as tears streaked down his face. It sounded like something was caught in his throat with each inhale he took. Judy quickly sat up on her side and touched his shoulder.

     “Hey, _hey..._ ” she said softly, “What’s wrong? What is it?”

     Nick wiped his eyes with a sniffle. That familiar snarky smile appeared through his broken countenance.

     “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Carrots…”

     Judy’s brow furrowed and she let out a trembling sigh. Nick’s eyes darted away from her. Judy softly brushed his cheek.

     “C’mon, Slick...what’s wrong?”

     Nick blinked, another tear rolling down his cheek. Judy gently wiped it away. Nick softly held her wrist.

     “You’re too good for me Flopsy, you can see right through me.”

     “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, I just...I wanna help…”

     A sigh shuddered through Nick’s body. He clamped his eyes shut.

     “Jamie’s dead, Judy,” he croaked, “He’s gone. We watched it, too, we watched him get a knife torn through his neck. He--he didn’t _deserve_ that, Judy...”

     Judy rolled on top of Nick’s chest and embraced him tightly. Nick squeezed her back, a whimper escaping his throat. Judy took a shuddery breath.

     “I know,” Judy said. “It’s not fair. None of this is.”

     Nick buried his face in her shoulder. Judy squeezed him tighter. They laid there for a moment, clinging to each other for dear life. After eternity, Judy spoke.

     “But you know what we’re gonna do?”

     Nick placed his chin over Judy’s shoulder. “What?”

     “We’re gonna find whoever did this,” Judy said, “And we’re gonna stop them. We’re gonna lock them up and make sure that they can’t do anything like this to anyone again.”

     Nick let out a half-hearted chuckle. “Good,” he mumbled.

     The room faded around them into darkness, and slowly the two of them melted into the sweet embrace of sleep.


	12. 01010100/01110111/01100101/01101100/01110110/01100101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> silence is violence

     Something was in the apartment.

     Judy lay as still as she could, facing Nick on his side. She listened to the floorboards creaking near the corner of the room. She heard the quiet brushing of fabric along the wall. Her paw slowly began to squeeze Nick’s shoulder.

     The sound of slow, steady breathing filtered through the air from the other side of the room.

     Judy’s heart was pounding in her chest. Whoever it was at the other end of the room, they sounded  _ big. _ Big was never a problem, it was just very difficult. Also, this wasn’t a very easy scenario to defend herself in.

     The room was pitch black, and Judy couldn’t see a thing.

     The slow sound of metal being pulled from leather entered Judy’s ears.

     She quietly squeezed Nick harder and gave him a gentle shake. She heard him stir. He let out a grunt, and Judy quickly placed her paw over his mouth. She heard his eyes slowly open.

     The floorboards froze.

     She looked up to him in the darkness and quietly mouthed something.

_      There is someone here. _

     There was a long pause. Judy could feel Nick’s ribcage slowly rising and falling. She could hear the mammal across the room slowly shifting their weight.

_      Nick? _

_      “Yeah,”  _ he quietly breathed into her ear.

_      Did you see what I said? _

_      “Yeah.” _

_      Can you see them? _

_      “Yeah. They’re near the table. They’ve got a knife out.” _

_      What do we do? _

     There was a pause.

_      “I dunno.” _

     The floorboards came back to life. They started to slowly approach the bed.

_      They’re coming. _

_      “I know. Stay still.” _

     Judy held her breath. The mammal was now inches from the bed. She could feel their presence towering over them. She heard them bring their arms up and over their head.

_      “Duck.” _

     Nick launched himself over Judy and straight into the mammal’s stomach.

     There was a loud “Oof!” followed by the sound of someone slamming into the ground. The clinking of metal skittered across the ground towards the window. Judy quickly sat up and stared into the darkness. Nick and the mammal were struggling with each other, elbows and knees knocking the ground. Something suddenly slammed into the table with a grunt, and Judy heard it fall onto its side.

     “Nick!”

     Someone dashed over towards the window, and Judy heard the sound of metal scraping off of the floor. She quickly rolled off the bed as a blade punctured the mattress behind her. Judy aimed her feet upwards and gave a swift kick. She hit something soft, and the mammal let out an agonized grunt. She heard the sound of their back hitting the floor. She quickly jumped to her feet.

     She heard Nick jump onto the attacker. There was a scuffle, and the sounds of rustling clothing filled the air. They rolled over, fists and knees colliding painfully.

     A knife sliced through skin. 

     Nick cried out in pain.

_      “NO!” _

     There was a commotion, and the front door suddenly opened. Judy briefly saw the silhouette of a sleek cheetah before the door slammed shut. Footsteps pounded down the hallway towards the stairs.

     Judy quickly dashed to the door and threw it open. She tore down the hallway and turned the corner to the stairs. She burst into the alcove and frantically threw herself against the railing. She looked down into the descending floors.

     No one was there.

     She looked up.

     No one was there.

     Judy’s chest was heaving. She dashed back into the hallway and looked out the window to the fire escape. It was wide open. She quickly poked her head out and looked up towards the roof.

     The attacker had disappeared.

     Judy brought her head back inside and looked back down the hallway, lost in thought. Suddenly, her heart completely stopped.

_      Nick. _

     Judy sprinted back down the hallway and burst into her room. She quickly flicked on the lightswitch.

     Nick was lying on the ground, clutching his right shoulder. Behind him, the kitchen table was lying on its side, broken dishes scattered across the ground. He slowly sat up, blood creeping through his fingers. Judy dashed to his side.

    “Oh sweet cheese and crackers, are you okay? Nick, you’re bleeding!”

    “Really?”

     Nick brought his paw down, revealing a flowering patch of red on his shoulder. His paw was drenched with blood. He let out a chuckle.

     “Hey, you’re right. Would ya look at that.”

_      “Nick!”  _ Judy groaned. “C’mon!”

     Judy began to take Nick’s shirt off. He went to raise her arms over his head, but he let out a cry of pain.

     “What?! What is it?!”

     “Okay,” he grunted, “That’s not gonna work!”

     “We need to get it off to look at it!”

     “Welp, it’s not coming off like that!”

     Judy jumped up and ran to the drawers by the sink. She pulled one out and grabbed a pair of scissors. With a  leap, she cleared the overturned table and landed next to Nick. She began to cut into his sleeve.

     “Okay, okay, please be careful with those--”

     “Just, gnaw on your fist, or something!”

     Judy sliced open the top of Nick’s shirt all the way to the neck. She carefully peeled the fabric away from his shoulder, revealing a large gash in the midst of his blood-soaked fur. A loose flap of skin sat open, revealing his muscles and veins. Blood was gently pulsating out of the open wound. Judy gagged.

     “What? How bad is it?”

     “Really bad,” Judy croaked, “Oh god, we gotta get you to a hospital.”

     “Sure I can’t just walk it off?”

     Judy quickly grabbed a napkin from the counter and tied it firmly around Nick’s shoulder. He screamed.

     “I know!” she said, “I'm sorry! ”

     She helped Nick to his feet and quickly dragged him out the door.

* * *

     It was only 6 a.m.

     Nick lay in the hospital bed munching on a cookie. His shoulder had been blanketed in gauze and a bag of ice had been taped over it, 7 stitches keeping the skin together underneath. A moderate laceration with a weapon-oriented strain in the trapezius, the doctor had said. An IV hooked up to a blood bag was stuck in his arm, a pulse oximeter on his index finger. Judy sat in the chair next to his bed, watching the sky turn purple behind him. He turned his head to her.

     “Want one?”

     Judy shook her head. Nick smiled.

     “Welp, more for me, then.”

     He popped another into his mouth. Judy let out a half-hearted chuckle and scooted her chair closer to his bed. She grabbed the cup of water from the bedside table and raised it towards him.

     “You need water too, don’t forget that.”

     Nick gingerly reached over and grabbed the paper cup from her paw. He carefully raised it to his lips and took a sip. He held the empty cup in his hand for a moment, staring at the bland and minimal pattern printed on the exterior. Suddenly, he carefully placed it face-down on top of his forehead. He turned his head to Judy and stared at her.

     “A hat.”

     Judy burst into laughter. Nick chuckled and flicked the cup off his head. 

     “What kind of meds have they got  _ you  _ on?”

     “The right ones, man…”

     Judy snickered and wiped the tears welling in her eyes. Nick sighed and held out his arm.

     “Okay, c’mon...c’mere.”

     Judy got up from her chair and carefully laid herself across Nick, burying her face in his chest. Nick began to softly rub the back of her head.

_      “Thr wz scr m.” _

     “What was that?”

     Judy lifted her head and plopped it on its side, her eyes gazing up towards Nick.

     “That was scary.”

     Nick let out a slow gust of air. “Yeah,” he mumbled, “Yeah, it was.”

     The door slowly opened. Nick and Judy looked up.

     Jack Savage stood in the doorway, his brow furrowed in worry.

     “I came as soon as I heard,” he said, “Are you alright?”

     “In complete honesty, I think I’ve been a little better.”

     Jack carefully approached the bed. “What happened?” he asked.

     “We got attacked early this morning in my apartment,” Judy said, “Somebody managed to break in.”

     “It was a cheetah,” Nick said. “Looked real young, too. Not very experienced in hand-to-hand combat, I learned.”

     “Did he try to kill you?”

     “Well, I guess,” said Nick, “Didn’t get that far, though. Managed to get a little piece of me, but that was about it.”

     Jack sighed and brushed his ears back. He stared into space, thinking.

     “Alright,” he said, “We’re gonna get tabs on every cheetah in Zootopia that fits your description, and we’re gonna find out where each of them were this morning. We'll check security feeds, sky cams, everything. We find this guy and find out who he’s working for.”

     Judy’s phone buzzed to life on the table. She quickly picked it up and checked the number.

_      Unknown _

     Judy looked at Jack and Nick, her brow furrowed. Jack nodded.

     “Go ahead.”

     Judy slowly pressed ‘Accept’ and raised the phone to her ear.

     “Hello?”

_      “Oh, Christ, you’re actually up this early?” _

     Judy’s ears perked up.

     “Honey?”

_      “No, it’s fuckin’ Gazelle. Listen, there’s somethin’ that I--” _

     “Wait, wait, wait--how did you get my number?”

_      “I found it on your Starbunny Planet account.” _

     “Star-- _ what?” _ Judy whispered into the phone, “But I--I haven’t played that game in  _ years-- _ ”

_      “Listen, we can talk about it later,”  _ Honey said, _ “I found something that you and the boys are gonna wanna look at. What time can you guys come over?” _

     “Honey, I--we  _ can’t. _ ”

     There was a pause.

_      “What?”  _ Honey’s voice crackled,  _ “Whaddya mean ‘we can’t’?” _

     “Nick’s in the hospital, Honey.”

_      “ _ _ What _ _?” _ she asked, _ “Seriously? What the fuck happened?” _

     “Listen,” Judy said, “We can talk about it when you get here, we’ll have somebody from the night shift bring you over, alright?”

_      “Okay,”  _ Honey said,  _ “Just...Jesus, is he okay?” _

     “Yeah, he’s fine, just...just come on over, we’re all here.”

_      “Okay,”  _ she said,  _ “I’ll come over as soon as they lemme out.” _

     “I’m working on it,” Judy said, “Just hang in there.”

_      “Alright,”  _ Honey said,  _ “Catch ya later.” _

     The speaker clicked and died. Judy placed her phone in her lap. She looked at Jack.

     “She’s on her way.”

     “Why?” he asked, “What’s going on?”

     “She says that she found something that she needs to show us.”

     Jack nodded softly, his eyes drifting to the ground. There was a moment of silence. Suddenly, Nick cleared his throat.

     “So uh, Carrots...what’s this ‘Starbunny’ thing?”


	13. 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We interrupt our regularly scheduled program for a special broadcast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 01010011011010010110110001100101011011100110001101100101 0110111101100110 011101000110100001100101 01101100011000010110110101100010

     Darkness.

     You can’t breathe.

     You can’t move.

     You try to struggle, but the zip ties around your wrists are too tight.

     You try to scream, but the gag in your mouth catches the noise.

     All you can do is cry.

     The burlap sack is ripped off your head and you’re blinded in light. You clamp your eyes shut. You can feel something welling up in your throat.

     “Hey, hey,” a calm voice says, “It’s okay sweetie, it’s alright, don’t worry…”

     You feel the gag in your mouth loosen, and someone carefully pulls it out. You open your eyes to see a small lamb standing in the light. She carefully rolls up the rag and puts it in her pocket. She gently wipes the tears from your cheeks.

     “Don’t cry, don’t cry, it’s alright honey...it’s okay, just take a deep breath, you’re gonna be okay.”

     You try to slow your breathing. The lamb carefully holds your paw and gives it gentle a squeeze.

     “Are these too tight back here?” she asks, “Do you need them loosened a little bit? Why don’t we do that?”

     She gestures towards someone over your shoulder. You feel someone approach you, and the plastic around your wrists snaps off. You quickly pull your wrists through the rungs of the chair and hold them in front of you. Your fur has been rubbed off, revealing raw and inflamed skin beneath. The lamb gasps.

     “Oh my gosh, you poor thing,” she says, “Those were _way_ too tight, I am so sorry…”

     She looks behind herself and snaps her fingers. A large rhino emerges from the darkness, holding a small, white case. You begin to whimper and squirm in your seat.

     “No, no, it’s okay,” the lamb says, “He’s not gonna hurt sweetie, he’s nice. Don’t worry.”

     The rhino hands her the case, then disappears into the darkness. She carefully opens it up, revealing gauze, bandages, and antibiotics. She pulls out a tube of Neosporin and dabs a small drop onto her finger. She begins to softly rub it onto your skin. You wince.

     “I know, honey,” she says, “I know it hurts, but this’ll make it feel better.”

     She covers both your wrists in ointment. Once she has finished, she takes out the gauze and wraps each of them individually. The bandages feel soft against your burns.

     “There,” she says, “That’s better, right?”

     You hesitantly nod your head.

     “Good,” she says. “Your name’s Cotton. Cotton Greyhare, right?”

     You nod.

     “Good,” the lamb says with a smile, “Good. My name’s Dawn. Dawn Bellwether. You can just call me Dawn, alright sweetheart?”

     You nod.

     “Alright,” she says, “How old are you, Cotton?”

     You quietly answer.

     “Seven?” Dawn asks, “Is that what you said?”

     You nod.

     “Wow, look at you!” she says, “You’re only seven years old, and you’re handling this like such a grown-up. You’re doing a great job, sweetie. Stay with me. Tell me Cotton, what’s uh...what’s your favorite food?”

     Something is happening in the darkness behind her. You crane your neck over her shoulder, trying to catch a peek. She places her hoof on your arm.

     “No no no, it’s okay, focus on me. Back there’s not important right now. What’s your favorite food?”

     Something is building in your throat. Tears begin to cloud your eyes. Dawn sighs and cradles your face in her hoof.

     “Oh, I know, sweetie, this all really scary, I know. But you’re doing a great job, and I promise you I’m not gonna hurt you, okay? Nobody is. You’re safe. It’s alright.”

     You sniffle. You nod and wipe your cheeks. Dawn quickly but gently pulls your paws away from your face.

     “Oh! Careful, Cotton, you don’t wanna get your bandages wet, alright? Keep your hands away from your face.”

     You nod.

     “Hey, look at me. What grade are you in at school, Cotton?”

     You mumble to her.

     “What was that, sweetie?” she asks, “Gotta speak a little louder, didn’t quite catch that.”

     You clear your throat and answer again.

     “Third grade?” she says, “Wow! Are you ahead of your class?”

     You sniffle and nod. You feel a sheepish smile tugging at the corners of your lips.

     “Wow! That’s _amazing,_ Cotton! You must be a very intelligent little lady!”

     A giggle escapes you.

     “So--so does that mean…” Dawn says, kneeling down in front of you, “Does that mean you can read?”

     You nod.

     Dawn reaches into her pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper.

     “Okay,” she says, “In that case, sweetie, I want you to read something out loud for me.”

     She hands you the piece of paper. It’s a large paragraph of words typed in shiny, glossy lettering. As you read them to yourself, you realize that they don’t make any sense together.

    “Do you think you could do that for me?”

     You ask her why she wants you to do this.

     “We just want to see how you say these words,” she says, “You see that camera all the way over there?”

     You stare to where she is pointing into the darkness. You can see the dim reflection of a lense near the back of the room. You nod.

     “Okay,” she says. She stands up. “I’m gonna stand over here, and I want you to read those words directly into the camera. Can you do that for me Cotton?”

     You look at the words on the paper, then back up at the camera. You turn your head to the side and see Dawn backing away into the darkness. You nod.

     “Okay, great,” Dawn says. “Don’t start until I tell you to.”

     There is a long pause. Suddenly, you see a red light flickering in the darkness.

     “Alright, sweetie,” Dawn says, “Go ahead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (for those of you who are confused, this takes place in the near future, chronologically speaking. i decided to do something fun and interesting for chapter 13, because of the symbolic significance of the number. this is all still canon within this universe. answers shall come, my friends, answers shall come.)


	14. 01000110/01101111/01110101/01110010/01110100/01100101/01100101/01101110

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 18.9962.853

     “So _here’s_ what I found…”

     Honey positioned the computer at the foot of Nick’s bed. Judy and Jack were standing  over her shoulder, cups of coffee in their hand. Honey had hit the food court before heading up to the sixth floor to meet them. Nick nibbled on a piece of toast with blueberry jam, watching from his propped up pillow.

     “I was up last night fixing all my stuff,” Honey said, “And once it all got restored, I decided to a little bit of research.”

     “How much time did this take?” Judy asked.

     “About six hours including the recoding,” Honey said, “I started at about 11:30 last night.”

     “Oh my _god,_ ” Nick said, “What time did you go to sleep?”

     There was a pause. Honey bit her lip.

     “I didn’t.”

     “Honey, c’mon--”

     “Whatever, we’re not talkin’ about my body clock right now,” Honey said, “We’ve got more important stuff to go over.”

     Honey opened up a folder labeled ‘VIDEOS’. They were alphabetically organized, and she began to quickly scroll through.

     “What is it?” Jack asked.

     “I downloaded something so I could show it to you guys,” she said, “I think you’ll find this _very_ interesting…”

     She clicked on a video. The screen went black and a gray pinwheel appeared.

     “Okay,” she said, “Watch closely.”

     Suddenly, there was a flash of bright colors on the screen as music blasted through the speakers. Honey jumped in her chair, her paw clutching her heart. Suddenly, her eyes went wide and she began to desperately pound on her keyboard.

     “Fuck. Shit. Goddammit. Ignore this. Fuck me, god--”

_“GOMEN NE SUNAO JA NAKUTE, YUME NO NAKA NARA IERUUUU--”_

     The video suddenly disappeared. Honey buried her face in her paws as Nick burst into hysterics. Jack and Judy slowly looked at Honey.

     “You...you wanted to show us a _cartoon?_ ” Jack asked.

     “No, goddammit, it--that was an accident,” Honey said, “That is  _not_ \--just, just forget you saw that.”

    “Oh my _god,_ ” Nick wheezed, “Was that...was that frickin’ _Sailor Moo?”_

     “I swear to Christ, I will rip that IV right out of your arm.”

     Nick let out another cackle. Honey angrily began to sort through her videos once more, reading the titles a little more carefully. Finally, she came to a stop on one labeled ‘securityfootage_4_zgc10816.mp4’.

     “Okay,” she said, _“This_ should be what we’re lookin’ for.”

     The video player opened. It was a high angle view of a platform at Zootopia Grand Central Station. A large sea of mammals was milling about the platform--carrying suitcases, reading newspapers, viewing train schedules, etcetera. Honey skipped forward a bit in the video.

     “Now, I was a little skeptical--” Honey said, “--about your claims, Bunny Boy. I didn’t think you were trying hard enough to find our zebra.”

     “Is this the security camera feed?” Jack asked.

     “You bethca.”

     “You hacked into their servers and stole the footage?” Jack said, “That’s...that’s pretty _illegal,_ Honey.”

     “Yeah, you know what else is?” Honey asked, “Those fuckin’ cheekbones. Can cut through a cinderblock, you need a license for those things.”

     Jack stood in a stunned silence. Suddenly, Honey stopped the video and adjusted it to normal speed. She scooted the computer closer to them.

     “Alright,” she said, “Watch closely.”

     Amidst the sea of mammals, a tall, spectacled zebra appeared. He was wearing a brown tweed suit and carrying a small briefcase. Honey paused the video and opened another window.

     “Now, I think this is him,” Honey said. “I needed to double check, though, so I pulled his picture from the UNZ website.”

     Honey opened a photo. It was a professional portrait of an older, refined zebra in a nice lavender button-down. She moved the picture next to the blurry image of the zebra in the video.

     “Now, I’m not saying that all zebras look the same,” Honey said, “But that’s pretty fuckin’ close, isn’t it?”

     “Wow,” Judy said, “You’re right. That’s gotta be him.”

     “When was this?” Nick asked.

     “This is footage from two days ago.”

     “Wait,” said Judy, “So that means that he _doesn’t_ know about us. He left the same day that Dylan made the broadcast.”

     “Of course he did,” Jack said, “There was no way for him to have known that it was going to happen. He left for another reason. _”_

     “Let’s watch where he goes,” Nick said.

     Honey chuckled nervously. “Uh, yeah,” she said, _“About_ that…”

     Honey pressed play. The zebra continued on his path through the other mammals. He suddenly stopped, looked around, and straightened his glasses. Then, he gave a  casual cough, and he walked towards the information kiosk. A large elephant was seated behind it. As he walked behind it, the elephant stood up and walked out. 

     Dr. Zander Orshak was gone.

     Judy gasped.

_“What?!”_ she shouted, “He--he just--”

     “I know, right?” Honey said, “Like a fuckin’ magician. He’s just _gone.”_

     “As I said,” Jack said, “We can never figure out where he goes. It's like someone just plucks him out of the air.”

     “Hold on, let’s see that again,” Nick said, “Rewind it.”

     Honey skipped back a couple seconds. She pressed play then entered a command on her keyboard. The video slowed down, now playing at half speed.

     They carefully watched as Orshak carefully adjusted his glasses. Then, he gave a brisk turn and walked towards the kiosk. The elephant turned and looked at another member of staff struggling with a trolley full of suitcases a couple feet away. He slowly began to stand up as Orshak walked behind him. Honey paused the video.

     “See, there he is, he’s walking behind this info guy, and then…”

     Honey pressed play. Orshak disappeared behind the elephant as he stood up and left the booth. Honey pressed pause as the elephant began to walk towards the trolley, and pointed at the empty space where Orshak once was.

     “Boom. Gone. Into thin air.”

     “That’s crazy,” Nick said, “How does he do that?”

     “Pretty realistic, isn’t it?” Honey said, “That's the best video editing I've ever seen.”

     The three looked at her.

     “Video editing?” Judy asked.

     “Oh! Yeah, sorry. Somebody’s editing these.”

     “Wait, what?” Jack asked, “How do you know?”

     “Shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t explain this very well…”

     Honey opened up her javascript box and began to scroll through.

     “I ran the video through some coding, and as it turns out--” Honey explained, “This isn’t the raw footage, see?”

     She pointed at a string of code. Nick sighed.

     “I don’t--I’m looking at a bunch of numbers and letters, Honey, that doesn’t mean anything to me.”

     “It’s an editing program stamp,” Jack said, “You’re right. So somebody’s--”

     “Somebody’s been going in, editing the raw footage, then placing back into the security camera archives in place of the original.” Honey said.

     “But wait,” Judy said, “How do they do that without anyone noticing?”

     “I’m sure somebody does,” Honey said, “They’ve probably just been paid to look the other way.”

     “Well...okay…” Nick said. “Who’s doing it?”

     Honey let out a gust of air.

"I don't know," she said, "I didn't check to...oh my god. I didn't check to see if there was an IP address attached to the program!"

     Honey quickly began to scroll through the wall of text. Judy and Nick looked at each other.

     “What does that mean?”

     “If I can get the IP address,” Honey said, “I can geolocate where this guy is editing from. God, I’m such a fucking moron, why didn’t I…”

     Honey trailed off and continued to scroll back through the endless ocean of code. Eventually, she reached the top of the box. She slowly began to read to herself. The three of them listened to her crazed muttering for a moment, watching her eyes dart across the screen. Suddenly, she let out a victorious shout and highlighted a string of numbers.

     “There it is!” she cried, “Now we just gotta--”

     She copied the number and opened up a new program. It was a large picture of the globe suspended in space, a small text box placed at the top of the window. She entered in the address and clicked ‘GO’. Suddenly, crosshairs slid onto the screen and began to chop into the globe with bright white flashes, each time zooming closer into the map. Honey rubbed her paws together enthusiastically.

     “That’s it, c’mon...let’s see where he is, _show_ it to me!”

    The crosshairs had now singled out the whole of Zootopia and the surrounding counties. Judy and Jack leaned in.

     “They’re close,” Judy said.

     “Hopefully,” Jack said, “Let’s see.”

     The screened zoomed in even further, honing in south of Zootopia. Eventually, Zootopia disappeared completely, and a small farming town came into view.

      _“Bunnyburrow?”_ Honey read, “Where the hell is _Bunnyburrow?”_

     “Sweet cheese and crackers…”

     The screen zoomed in once more, landing on a small house on the outskirts of the town. It was a _tiny_ house, its roof covered in modest gray tiles with a rather large chimney protruding from the side. A large red van was parked in the driveway. A street address was displayed at the bottom corner of the screen.

     “7, Carriage Lane,” Jack read.

     “Carrots, you know where that is?”

     “Yeah,” she said, “But I dunno who would be living there.”

     “What do you mean?” Nick asked, “I thought that the whole ‘small-town’ thing was that you knew everybody.”

     “Yeah,” she said, “And when I left, nobody was living there. The place was supposed to be haunted. Obviously it isn’t, but that’s what our parents would tell us to keep us away from it.”

     “Why?” Honey asked, “What’s over there?”

     “It’s just kinda...I dunno, _sketchy_ ,” Judy said, “It’s by this big highway, out by the edge of town...not a really safe place to be if you’re a kit.”

     “Well, looks like someone didn't follow that advice,” Jack said. “Are you sure nobody lives there?”

     “Yeah,” Judy said, “It was kinda known as ‘that house’, you know? The only people who would dare go over there would be the troublemakers, you know, usually teenagers. They’d usually go over there with a bottle of Yak Daniel’s and a packet of cigarettes in the middle of the night and just...I dunno, be juveniles. Usually it was…”

     Judy’s ears suddenly perked up and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She placed her finger on the bright red van in the driveway.

     “Wait a second,” she said, “That’s...I know that van. That’s Gideon Grey’s.”

     “Gibbledy _who?_ ” Nick asked.

     “Gideon Grey,” she said. “Maybe _he_ lives there.”

     “You know him?” Jack asked, “Who is he?”

     “He’s this...he’s a _baker,_ " Judy said uncertainly. "He makes pies and pastries for a living. I don’t think he’d be able to hack into and edit a security feed, much less operate a computer.”

     “Well,” Honey said, “This is where the IP address leads. Are we gonna take the bait, or move on to something else?”

     “Of course we’re gonna take it,” Jack said, “It’s our only lead right now that isn’t a dead end.”

     “But, this just...this doesn’t make a lot of sense--”

     “Flopsy,” Honey said, “I can come up with a whole _list_ of things that haven’t made a lot of sense within the last 24 hours _alone.”_

     “Detective,” Jack said, “It’s either this or the search for the cheetah. I think it’d suit us better, seeing that you seem to know the suspect, that you went to Bunnyburrow with Wilde to confront him. Honey and I can handle finding the cheetah culprit here.”

     Honey looked up at Jack with a starry-eyed stare.

     “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Judy asked.

     “I think it’d be better if I took care of the other lead,” Jack said, “Unless you think otherwise. I’m open to discussion.”

     Judy looked to Nick. He sighed and sat up straighter on his pillow.

     “Look, Carrots,” he said, “I think we should go ahead and do it. Doctor said I’d be outta here at 7:30 at the latest, we can catch an 8:30 train to Bunnyburrow, talk to this Gideon guy and be back here in Savannah Central by noon. Maybe we’ll even have a little time to stop and say hi to your folks.”

     “Oh yeah,” Judy said, “Cause you know I’d _love_ that.”

     “C’mon, you know how parents are,” Nick said, “They completely smother you with love and affection ‘cause you haven’t been around to receive it in normal doses. Also, we may not even have any time for it.”

     Judy let out a slow sigh. She looked down at the ground.

     “I’ll take a look at the train schedule.”

* * *

     Nick did not enjoy having to work with an arm sling. He had insisted that it wouldn’t be necessary, that it would only garner him unneeded sympathy, but the doctor had been quite persistent. He pouted in the passenger seat of the squad car all the way back to his apartment, and Judy couldn’t help but laugh.

     “I just think it’s a bit much,” he said, “It’s just a shoulder injury, it’s not like I shattered my humerus.”

     “It’ll be better for you in the long run,” said Judy, “We don’t wanna screw it up any more.”

     “I hate it,” Nick “As soon as I can take it off I’m going to.”

     When they finally got inside his apartment, Nick found that he had some difficulty putting on a shirt with the sling still on. He ripped it off with a growl and threw it onto his bed. He pulled a plain white t shirt out of his drawers and tried to pull it on, but he couldn’t maneuver his arm freely enough to fit it through the sleeve.

     “Do a button-down,” Judy said, “It’ll be easier to put on and it’ll look more professional. We’re detectives now, remember? We gotta look like it. Plus, it’s getting kinda cold out there, so a long sleeve'll suit you better…”

     Judy opened Nick’s closet and pulled out an off-white button-down. She helped Nick put his arms through. Her thumbs gently brushed over the material as she began to button it  up for him. She raised an eyebrow.

     “This is a nice shirt,” Judy said, “Where’d you get it?”

     “I got it from Snarlov, I think,” Nick said, “Birthday present. Have you seen that wolf in street clothes? He looks like he walks out of a frickin’ magazine every time. That guy knows how to dress himself.”

     Judy chuckled as she helped straighten the collar.

     “And then, you know,” Nick continued, “On the other hand there’s _me,_ who wears the same three Hawaiian shirts all the time.”

     “Yeah, but you pull them off.”

     Nick snickered. Judy took a step back and straightened the shirt out.

     “Spectacular,” he said, “You could be my own personal stylist.”

     “Not for free, Slick,” said Judy, “Set a price.”

     Judy helped Nick reattach the sling. He grumbled. Judy then stood up and walked towards the door. As she cracked it open, she turned back and looked at Nick.

     He was pulling a navy overcoat off the back of his desk chair. He awkwardly stuck one arm through, and draped the other side of the coat over his shoulder. He looked at Judy and raised an expectant eyebrow.

     “Where did you get _that?”_

     “It’s uh...it’s my dad’s. A little big, but…”

     Judy folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the doorframe. She bit her lip, trying to stifle the smirk appearing on her face.

     “...You _do_ look pretty good…”

     “Thanks,” Nick said. “You don’t look too bad yourself in those pink pajama bottoms.”

     Judy’s ears fell. She quickly looked down at herself and saw that she was still in her pajamas from five hours before. Her face flushed.

     “Oh geez,” she said, “I've been out like this _all morning_ …”

     “It’s alright, we can stop by your place on the way to the station,” said Nick, “Besides, our train doesn’t leave ‘til 9:00, right? We got plenty of time."


	15. 01000110/01101001/01100110/01110100/01100101/01100101/01101110

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> reconnect  
> reminisce  
> reaffirm  
> repeat

     The train left at 8:30.

     At least, it was scheduled to. It was delayed about fifteen minutes due to the request of two frazzled detectives from the ZPD.

     The other passengers weren’t exactly pleased with this.

     Nick and Judy sat in their seats, facing each other. A fold out table from the wall was sitting between them.

     If looks could kill, Nick Wilde would be dead.

     “Relax,” he said, “It’s over, we made it.”

     “Delaying the train fifteen minutes is _making it?”_

     “C’mon, Carrots,” he sighed, “We’ve passed that, it's done. We’re on the train, we’re headed to Bunnyburrow, just sit back and relax. We have a good hour and a half ahead of us.”

     An attendant came by to check their tickets. Judy pulled out her phone and displayed the barcode. The attendant quickly scanned it then continued down the row. Judy placed her phone on the table and rubbed her eyes.

     “Oh my god,” she groaned, “It’s only 8:47 and this day has already been too eventful…”

     Nick rubbed his shoulder and snickered. “You’re telling _me…_ ”

     Nick began to shrug off his overcoat. He stood up and tried to fold it up with his arm, but it kept spilling over and unfolding. Judy stood up and offered a paw.

     “Need a hand with that?”

     Nick handed it to her.  She carefully folded it up into a neat little package, then handed it back to Nick. He pushed it up and over the edge of the carry-on tray above them, then sat back down.

     “Thanks,” he said. He wiggled his fingers in the sling. “I’m still gettin’ used to this thing.”

     Judy chuckled to herself. “It was kinda funny to watch…”

    “Ha ha,” Nick scowled. “You know what’s gonna be even funnier to watch?”

     “What?”

     “Your face when your family realizes that you’re back in town.”

     Judy winced and leaned on the table.

     “Should I tell them?” she asked, “Because if I _don’t,_ they’ll be mad when they find out, and they’ll chastise me for it, but if I _do,_ they’ll be mad that I won’t be able to visit them, and I just...it’s gonna be a chore either way.”

     “I think you should just tell them,” Nick said. “Just say, ‘Look, Ma and Pa, I’m comin’ down to Bunnyburrow for important Detective Business, and I’ll only be there for a couple hours. If I have time, maybe Nick and I can stop by and say hi, but I don’t think we’ll be able to.’ And then, you know, ‘hugs and kisses’, etcetera.”

     Judy sighed. “Okay,” she said, “But they’ll still want us to come visit.”

     “I know, Fuzz, I’ve met them,” Nick said, “Bonnie’s probably gonna try to convince me to stay the night.”

     Judy snorted. “My god, mom would _totally_ do that.”

     “And then your dad would probably give me another lecture on botanics and the science behind carrot farming. ‘That’s why you gotta make sure the stalk isn’t wilting, ‘cause if it’s wilting, the carrot’s just gonna be limp and about as flavorful as a piece ‘a grass.’ ‘Yes, Stu. Please go on, Stu…’”

     Judy tried to stifle her laughter with her paw. Nick grinned at her.

     “Oh my god _,_ that’s the best impression of him I’ve ever seen.”

     “When do you wanna call them? Wanna wait 'til we got there, or...”

     Judy’s smile faded and she let out a sigh.

     “I guess I’ll go ahead and do it now.”

     Judy picked up her phone and opened muzzletime. She clicked on her parent’s contact. She waited for a moment as it rang, giving a tug on the neck of sweater.

     “Here we go…”

     The video feed appeared, revealing Mr. and Mrs. Hopps in the shade of their outdoor carrot booth, their house and fields in the background. Some of Judy’s younger siblings were playing in the distance. Stu adjusted his hat as Bonnie adjusted the camera angle.

_“Hey there sweetie,”_ Mrs. Hopps said, _“What’s going on? Is everything alright?”_

_“Hey there, Jude the Dude. Is everything okay?”_

     “Hey guys,” Judy said, “Everything’s great, I’m great...it’s just, uh...I-I thought that I should let you know that--”

_“Wait, honey, where are you? That’s not your apartment, is it?”_

_“Did you get a new wallpaper or something?”_

     “No,” said Judy, “No, I’m on the train right now. Which is what I wanna talk about--”

_“You’re on the_ train? _Where’re you goin’?”_

_“Why are you calling us from the train, Judy, is something wrong?”_

_“No,”_ Judy said firmly, “No, everything is fine. Don’t worry. I just wanted to call you guys real quick to tell you that I’m on my way to Bunnyburrow right now.”

_“You’re coming to Bunnyburrow? Oh, Judy, you should’ve given us more warning, we would’ve had more time to prepare!”_

_“I mean, it’s great droppin’ in on us ‘n all, but we gotta get your room ready!”_

_“I thought you didn’t get your vacation for another month, sweetie, why didn’t you tell us?”_

_“How long are you plannin’ on stayin’? We’re gonna have to reorganize the whole_ place… _”_

_“I’m sorry sweetie, this is--this is_ great, _of_ course _we’re excited to have you drop in, we always are--right Stu?”_

_“What? Oh, yeah, of course we are, it’s just--”_

     “You guys!” Judy said, “Please, I--I never said that I was staying over, can you just listen for a second?”

     Judy glanced up to see Nick with his paw in his mouth and his eyes clamped shut, trying to stifle his laughter. There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.

_“Oh. You’re not?”_

     “No, I’m not. I’m only gonna be there for a couple hours. I’m working on a case, and I need to head out there to talk to somebody.”

_“This is a case you’re workin’ on? What is it, a robbery or somethin’?”_

_“Oh, Stu, maybe it was the Barnabys. Remember how Howard got into that huge argument with the Woolworths?”_

     “No, it’s not a--listen, I can’t really talk about it in detail,” said Judy, “I just thought that I would let you guys know that I’d be in town, and then maybe if we had some time we could swing by and say hi.”

_“We? What ‘we’? Is the fox with you?”_

     Judy’s eyes popped out of her head. She let out a bewildered gust of air as she brushed her ears back.

     “ _‘The fox’_ has a name, dad--”

_“Oh! Yeah! Sorry, Jude, I--”_

     Nick motioned for the phone with a smirk. Judy hesitantly handed it to him. He beamed down at the screen and gave a small wave.

     “Hey there, Mr. and Mrs. Hopps. How is everything?”

_“Oh, Nick! Hey there, bud...”_

_“Oh my goodness, Nick! Dear, what happened to your arm?!”_

     “Aw, this?” Nick smirked, “Nah, this is nothing. You should take a look at the other guy.”

_“Jeez Louise, what happened buddy?”_

     “It was just a little scuffle,” said Nick. “Little shoulder strain, that’s all it is. It’ll be fine in a few days or so.”

_“Alright, well take it easy, sweetie, we don’t want it getting any worse--”_

_“Hey, uh, is that a new uniform, Nick? It looks a little casual…”_

     Nick looked down at his shirt, then back up at Judy. Her eyes were wide, and her paws were tightly clenching the edges of the table. He opened his mouth apprehensively.

     “It’s--It’s Casual Friday. Yeah, we started enacting a monthly Casual Friday on the force, it’s supposed to boost morale. As you can imagine, I’m quite the fan.”

_“But I thought--Stu, isn’t it Thursday--I think today’s Thursday, dear.”_

     “Is it really? Well gosh darnit, I must be a day early then. Silly me. Here, lemme hand you back to Judy.”

     Nick passed the phone back across the table. Judy plastered a smile on her face.

     “Well, there you have it, uh... that’s all I really wanted to tell you two, just thought I should let you know.”

_“Alright, sweetie, thanks for telling us,”_ Mrs. Hopps cooed through the speaker, _“And maybe we’ll see you later today?”_

     Judy gave a forced chuckle. “Maybe! We’ll see…”

_“Alright honey, if you have time. It was nice talkin’ to you.”_

_“Nick, keep her in line for me, ya hear?”_

     “You got it, Chief,” Nick said from across the table.

_“Alright. Catch ya later, Jude. Love ya.”_

     “Love you too. Bye…”

     The Hopps hung up. Judy let out a sigh of relief and collapsed on the table. Nick snorted.

     “You’re welcome, by the way.”

     “I just haven’t had any _time!”_ Judy said, throwing her arms into the air. “It’d be an hour-long conversation with them, about how ‘Being a detective is _dangerous_ ’ and ‘Are you sure you’re not happy with just being an officer’ and all this other stuff that’s just… _ugh!”_

     Nick laughed and gave the fur on her head a gentle rustle. Judy let out a muffled groan. Nick leaned back in his seat and scratched his chin.

     “You know, that’s not such a bad idea,” he said, “Casual Friday? I should talk to Chief about that.”

     Judy giggled and raised her face from the table. “Yeah,” she said, “Cause he’d love hearing that from _you.”_

     “Right, I should get Snarlov to ask him. It would give more weight to it, don't ya think?”

* * *

     The Hopps family had met them at the station, much to Judy’s astounded horror. Frankly, Nick thought it was quite typical of them, and he couldn’t help but laugh at Judy's expense. Bonnie and Stu had brought Judy a small care package, which she had unwillingly accepted. While Judy’s siblings had met Nick before, and had learned that he was _quite_ the jungle gym, they were much gentler with him when they saw the sling around his arm. Nick made up a story about how he had fought off a group of knife-wielding gang members all on his own, which the group of kits had absolutely eaten up. Judy always found it kind of heartwarming how good he was with all of them, considering how much they could get on her nerves when around them too long.

     Judy hadn’t had realized (until presented with the opportunity of borrowing the family truck) that she and Nick had no form of transportation to the edge of town. One transference of keys and an exchange of goodbyes later, the detectives were on the trail to their lead.

     Nick’s eyes were glued out the window of the truck, mesmerized at the rolling fields and meadows flying past them. They were blooming with bright orange poppies and golden buttercups, the tall, rolling grass flowing between them. Judy looked at Nick and snickered.

     “You still on those pain meds, buddy?”

     “No, it’s just...I haven’t seen this much green anywhere other than the rainforest district. And even _that_ isn’t quite like this, this is more...softer…”

     “More softer?”

     “C'mon," Nick snickered, "You know what I mean…”

     Judy laughed. “It’s okay,” she said, “It’s been a long day…”

     The drive to the edge of town took about twenty minutes. Nick straightened up when he saw a small white house with a large chimney appear in the distance.

     “Is that it?”

     Judy glanced out the window. “Yep,” she said, “There’s our place.”

     “It’s so far out here,” Nick said, “Who would build a house this far from the rest of town?”

     “I forget what the old story is,” Judy said, “Some witch or something was supposed to have lived here centuries ago, and she didn’t want anybody around while she did...I dunno, whatever it is witches do.”

     “Spells? Potion-making?”

     "Sure."

     "Candy houses?"

     Judy pulled up to the side of the dirt-path driveway and slowly came to a stop. She stared for a moment at the large red van in front of the porch. Nick followed her gaze.

     “Gideon Grey’s Pastry Place,” he read. “Has a nice ring to it.”

     “I really don’t think this is our guy, Nick,” Judy said. “There’s no way. I’ve known this mammal all my life, and...I just can’t imagine him doing something like this.”

     “Well,” Nick said, “There’s only one way to find out, right?”

     Nick popped open the door. He looked at Judy expectantly. She let out a sigh and opened hers as well.

     As soon as they both stepped out of the truck, the smell of assorted fruits and rising dough entered their nostrils. Nick moaned and rubbed his eyes with a chuckle.

     “Oh man,” he said, “Lead or not, this is _definitely_ the right place to be…”

     Judy walked up the driveway, Nick following close behind. The house actually looked quite inviting up close. It had been repainted, shedding its once haunting and unkempt look that Judy had remembered from her childhood. The roof had been retiled, and the cracks and splinters that had once peppered the external walls were nowhere to be seen. It was obvious that someone had done some major remodeling.

     Judy walked up the front porch and stopped at the large, wooden door. She hesitantly pressed the doorbell, and they listened as it sounded from inside the house. There was the clanging of pans and bowls, and a familiar drawl shouted from within.

_“Hold on, hold on, I’ll be right there…”_

     Nick and Judy heard footsteps approaching. Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a plump, auburn haired fox wearing a flour covered apron. His eyebrows shot up.

     “Judy!” he said, “Nice to see ya! What’re you doin’ out here, I didn't know you were back in town.”

     “Hey, Gideon,” Judy said, “Nice to see you too. I'm just down her for a little while, uh...how’ve you been holding up?”

     “Been good, been good, how ‘bout you?”

     “I’m alright, thanks...oh! Gideon, I’d like you to meet my police partner. This is Offic--I mean, Detective Nick Wilde, ZPD.”

     Nick stepped forward and stuck out his hand, a pleasantly surprised smile on his face. Gideon beamed back at him.

     “Well, nice to meet ya Mr. Wilde, the pleasure’s all mine.”

     “Mine as well, Mr. Grey. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions about something that happened a couple days ago?”

     Gideon’s smile slowly fell. He looked between Nick and Judy.

     “Oh, is...is this some po-lice business or somethin’?”

     “Yes, Gideon," Judy said. "Do you think you could spare us a little time?”

     “Well, uh--well sure, c’mon inside, let’s talk about it…”

     Gideon took a step back and showed them in. Nick and Judy stepped inside, and the scents of the kitchen hit them like a brick wall. Nick grabbed onto Judy’s shoulder and squeezed it hard. She touched his paw supportively.

     “That smells _real_ good Mr. Grey...I take it that you’re quite the pastry chef.”

     “Aw, well, I dunno ‘bout _that_ ,” Gideon said, leading them out of the foyer and into another room, “I just like to bake a little every now and then.”

     Judy and Nick found themselves in a cozy living room. There were plush sofas with a coffee table sitting in the middle, a small fireplace built into the wall. On the mantle sat picture frames of different stages of Gideon’s life; one with his mother from when he was little, one of him and Travis in high school, a fairly recent one of him in front of his truck…

     “Go on ahead and take a seat wherever you like, don’t be shy...can I get y’all anythin’?”

     “Actually,” Nick said, “Some water would be quite nice.”

     “Yessir, one glass 'a water comin’ up.”

     Gideon disappeared into the kitchen across the hall. Nick turned to Judy with a huge grin.

     “You didn’t tell me he was a fox!” he whispered.

     “I...I didn’t think to,” Judy said, “Does it matter?”

     “No, it’s just...it’s cool to see another fox every now and then,” Nick said, “You meet one you’ve never seen before, and by the end of the night you're family. That’s just the way we work, you know?”

     “Hey!” Gideon called, “Y’all wanna try a lil somethin’?”

     “I would be _honored_ to Mr. Grey!” Nick responded, “What do you have for us, sir?”

     Gideon walked back in holding a metal baking tray. Placed on top were two delicious looking pastries, steaming with heat. Nick sat up enthusiastically.

     “I’ve been experimentin’ with this new recipe,” he said, placing the tray on the table before handing Nick a glass of water, “A lemon-raspberry tart. One a’ my favorite fruit combinations, surprised I didn’t think a’ this one before.”

     Judy stared at the tray for a moment. She slowly looked back up at Gideon.

     “Only two?”

     Gideon looked up at Judy. He awkwardly chuckled.

     “Didja...didja want _more?”_

     “No, I was just--a little odd that you only made two of them, was all.”

     “Well I mean--I-I was just experimentin’ was all, I didn’t wanna make a whole batch a’ duds, if you know what I’m sayin’.”

     Judy gave a look to Nick. He immediately understood. She slowly looked back at Gideon and smiled.

     “We just ate, but thank you for offering, Gideon.”

     “Are you sure? Don’t worry, it’s not like they’re _poisined_ or nothin’--”

     “I think we’ll be alright,” Nick said, “We’re quite full. Nice of you to offer though, thank you.”

     Gideon stared at them in silence. After a moment, he shrugged.

     “Alright,” he said, “More for me, I guess.”

     He happily picked one up and took a gigantic bite out of it. Judy and Nick gawked at him as he chewed contently, grunting in satisfaction.

     “Mmm...yearh, therse 'r greht…”

     He glanced at Judy and Nick, and he slowly stopped chewing. He quickly swallowed and wiped his lips.

     “I hope you don’t mind, do ya? If so, I can just--”

     “No, no,” Judy said, “Go--go right ahead, it’s alright.”

     “Naw, it’s alright, I can wait,” Gideon said, placing the tart back on the tray, “I don’t wanna make y'all uncomfortable.”

     “That’s quite nice of you sir,” Nick said. “Now, we have some questions for you.”

     “Alright,” said Gideon apprehensively, “Am--am I in trouble or somethin’?”

     “No, of course not,” Judy said, “Not to worry. We just want to see if you have any information that could help us in this case.”

     “Alright,” Gideon said, “Well, uh, go on 'n shoot.”

     “Well, first,” Judy began, “Have you ever heard of a group called the Better Lives Organization?”

     Gideon raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

     “First time it’s brushed past  _my_ ears,” he said, “Are they one ‘a those cancer research foundations or somethin’?”

     Nick and Judy exchanged a look. Judy sighed.

     “Not exactly,” she said, “Were you using any form of digital media two days ago?”

     “Yeah, I guess,” Gideon said. “I had the TV on the other day while I was...oh, did y’all see that commercial? That creepy one with the kid shootin’ himself? Christ Almighty, the kind ‘a things they’ll show on TV these days…”     

     Nick and Judy exchanged a look. Nick let out a gust of air and turned back to Gideon.

     “That wasn’t an ad, Mr. Grey,” Nick said, “What you saw was a live broadcast of Dylan Fangmyer's suicide.”

     Gideon’s face fell. He swallowed hard.

     “You mean that--that was _real?”_

     “Since then, his body has gone missing, and multiple mammals who had been in contact with Dylan or the case have been killed,” Judy said. “The Better Lives Organization seems to be responsible for his actions.”

     “Christ Almighty,” Gideon said. “So you think...you think I’m one of those Better Lives people? ‘Cause I promise you, I’m not, I don’t even know none 'a those cancer doctors--”

     “We’re not saying anything of the sort, sir,” Nick said, “There’s just one part of this that seems a little suspicious.”

     Nick pulled out his phone and opened an email from Honey containing the security video. He turned his phone towards Gideon and pressed play.

     “See that zebra in the top left corner?” he asked. “That’s Doctor Zander Orshak, a prime suspect in the case. Watch what happens.”

     Gideon watched in silence. Suddenly, his eyebrows shot up and his mouth fell open.

     “Wh--what in the--how'd he do that?”

     “Exactly,” Judy said. “We checked the video, and we discovered that the footage had been edited to give that effect. We followed the IP address, and for some reason, it lead us here.”

     “You followed the-the what?”

     “IP address,” Nick repeated, “It’s a digital address assigned to your electronic device, unique to every individual outlet. It can be traced to find your location. So, we traced the video, and...well, it brought us here.”

     Gideon sat back in his chair with a sigh. He tentatively scratched his hair, staring off into space.

     “Well...you’re gonna have to talk to Travis about that. He’s the video guy, not me.”

     Judy and Nick looked at each other. Judy slowly turned back to Gideon and raised an eyebrow.

     “What do you mean?”

     “Well, he’s the one who does all the movie stuff,” he said, “Went to school for it ‘n everything. He’ll know what kinda thing they did to make him disappear like that.”

     “Wait,” Nick said, “Who is--who is _Travis?”_

     Gideon winced and rubbed his neck. He looked down at the ground.

     “He’s uh...he’s a friend of mine, that uh...here, why don’t I just call him down?”

     Gideon stood up and walked out into the hallway. He stood at the bottom of the stairs and cupped a paw to his mouth.

     “Hey, Trav!” he called, “You up yet?”

     There was a pause. Bedsprings shifted above them.

     “Whaddya want, Gid?” a muffled voice called.

     “C’mon down for a sec, hon,” Gideon said, “There’s some mammals here that wanna talk to ya.”

     There was a pause. The mattress above them decompressed, and sleepy footsteps trudged their way towards the staircase. Gideon beckoned his paw towards the living room.

     “They’re right in here, Travis.”

     “You let 'em in? Why didn't you--”

     The small, black-footed ferret appeared in the doorway wearing pajamas and a bathrobe. He looked at Nick and Judy and slowly straightened up. He swallowed.

     “Judy?”

     “Hey, Travis,” Judy said.

     "Wow, it's...it's been a while, hasn't it?"

     "Yeah," Judy said, "A couple years."

     “I heard you’re a big city cop, that’s--you really showed us, didn’t ya?”

     Travis chuckled. Judy smiled politely.

     “Yeah,” she said, “I guess I did.”

     Travis smiled awkwardly at her, then looked at Nick. Nick cleared his throat.

     “Detective Nick Wilde, ZPD. I’m Judy’s partner.”

     “Oh...I-I see...is, is there a problem?”

     “They wanna ask you some questions ‘bout a case they’re tryna crack.”

     “Really?” Travis asked, “What about?”

     “Well, Mr., uh...I’m sorry," Nick stammered, "I don’t think I caught your--”

     “Ferriday,” Travis said, “Travis Ferriday.”

     “Mr. Ferriday,” Nick said, “We were wondering if you knew anything about the whereabouts of Doctor Zander Orsahk? Or, if you've ever heard of a group called the Better Lives Organization?”

     Travis’s ears slowly folded back. His eyes drifted to the ground and he took a deep breath. With a gentle paw, he touched Gideon’s shoulder and whispered in his ear.

     “Gid, why don’t you check on the pies in the oven, they might be burning a lil bit…”

     “Nah, I just put ‘em in, they can’t be--”

     “Could you just--maybe give us a moment? I wanna talk to these two nice detectives in private.”

     “You--you don’t want me here with ya?”

     “It’s alright, I just want to talk to them on my own. Can I just do that real quick?”

     Gideon looked at him long and hard. His brow furrowed suspiciously.

     “What’s goin’ on here?”

     “Listen, Gid, I’ll talk to you about it in a second, alright? I just need a moment with them. Alone. Please?”

     Gideon looked at Travis, then looked back at Nick and Judy on the couch. He swallowed.

     “Alright,” he said. “I’ll, uh--I’ll be in the kitchen...just, uh, holler if ya need me…”

     Gideon slowly ambled out into the hallway and made his way towards the kitchen. He walked inside and closed the door behind him. 

     Travis slowly turned to face Nick and Judy. They stared back at him. After a long silence, Travis let out a long sigh.

     "Alright," he said, "...Let's do this..."


	16. 01010011/01101001/01111000/01110100/01100101/01100101/01101110

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> g n i l l a f m'i em hctac

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW what a hiatus. I apologize for such the delay, but I have just started back at school. I'm afraid that more chapter updates will take around this same amount of time. However, you guys can always talk to me about the story on my tumblr by the same name if you like. (enjoy this next chapter)

     Travis sighed and walked into the living room. He sat down across from Nick and Judy in one of the cushioned chairs. He meditatively rubbed his eyes and let out a slow gust of air.

     “I knew this was gonna happen,” he mumbled, “I knew it would happen eventually, I just wasn’t ready for it…”

     Judy and Nick looked at each other. Travis sat up, let out an exasperated gust of air and stretched his arms up and over himself. He let them fall on top of his head and slide down his neck.

     “This is  _ not  _ how I wanted to start my morning,” he chuckled.

     “I’m sorry,” Judy said.

     “No, no, it’s alright, it’s just...okay, I need you to promise me one thing.  _ One thing. _ Could you do that for me?”

     Nick cocked an eyebrow. “Well, that depends, Mr. Ferriday. What exactly do you have in mind?”

     “Just...please, for the love of God, don’t tell Gideon about any of this,” he said, “Any of it. He’d lose his head over it, and...God, I really don’t wanna put him through any ‘a that.”

     “So--” Judy stammered, “So you’re admitting that--”

     “Four years,” Travis interrupted, “I’ve been doin’ this for four years. They contacted me one night, and they’ve been forcin’ me to do it ever since then.”

     Nick and Judy sat in a stunned silence. Travis’s paws were trembling in his lap, and Judy could see his Adam’s apple quivering in his throat. He took a shaky breath. 

     “They send me footage,” he continued, “They tell me how to edit it, and then I’m given a time constraint--usually an hour or so. Once it’s done, I send the edited video back to them and they replace it. I don’t know why they do it, but it’s always the same mammals at the same places. I get something every month or so from them.”

     Judy slowly leaned leaned across the table towards him.

     “Travis, are--are you alright?”

     “No, I’m not,” he choked, burying his face in his hands, “I’m tired of hiding. I’m goddamn sick and tired of it. They’ve been blackmailing me for years now, and I haven’t been able to tell anyone about it, and now ‘cause I told  _ you two  _ about what they’ve been makin’ me do--my whole life,  _ our  _ whole life is just gonna be ruined, and--”

     “Hold on, hold on, slow down,” Nick said, cautiously raising his paw. “What were they blackmailing you about?”

     Travis slowly looked up, bleary-eyed. He took a mangled gasp of air.

     “They have pictures,” he said. “They’ve been sending me pictures of me. Here at home, workin’, me with Gideon, us out in town--I don’t know where they’re takin’ ‘em from, but it’s like they’re always watching us. They told me that if I do something wrong, if I step out of line...they’ll kill us. Both of us.”

     “They’ve been sending  _ death threats?”  _ Judy asked.

     “I didn’t know what else to do,” Travis croaked, “I was scared, I didn’t--God, I was so scared, I still am.”

     “It’s alright,” Nick said, patting Travis’s paw, “It’s alright...we’re gonna protect you, alright? They’re not gonna lay a single finger on either of you.”

     Travis slowly nodded. He wiped his eyes and sighed. Judy gently held his shoulder.

     “Listen,” she said, “We need help shutting these guys down for good. In order to do that, we need all the information we can get. Do you have the original footage?”

     Travis nodded. “It’s on my computer…” he said, “Upstairs.”

* * *

     His home office was quite small, but was very cozy. A desk with a large computer monitor sat on the wall perpendicular to the window. Movie posters from the past four or five years hung from the walls. Travis sat down at the desk and opened up a movie editing program, and Judy and Nick hunched over his shoulder.

     “Usually I commute out to Sahara for work,” he said, “They have a studio over there. But as you can imagine, it’s not very efficient for me. So, every now and then, I work from here.”

     Travis opened up his email account. He went into an unmarked folder and began to type a phrase into the search bar. Suddenly, a string of emails from a single address appeared.

_      “moonharvest85@mhab.blo.324”  _ Judy read.

     Nick snorted. “Sounds like somebody passed out on the keyboard near the end there.”

     “It’s always the same mammal,” Travis said, “I don’t know who they are, but they keep contacting me under that address.”

     “Let’s take a look at the footage,” Nick said.

     “Yeah, sorry,” said Travis, “I’m gettin’ it right now.”

      Travis opened an email with a video attachment. He opened it into a video player and expanded it to fill the screen. Judy and Nick watched.

     Orshak walked onto the platform area, as usual. He stopped, looked around, then took a brisk turn towards the information booth. The elephant stood up and left.

     Orshak--now very much real and visible--continued away from the info booth and stepped onto the train to his left, right as the doors slid closed behind him.

     “There,” Travis said, pausing the video and pointing, “He got on that one, I had to cut into the frame and rewind that bit a little, so it just looks like he’s not there.”

     “Platform seven,” Judy muttered, “Coach E. We have to call the station and find out what trains left from there.”

     “Is there any way that we could get this,” Nick asked, “A hard drive, something?”

     “I have it all backed up on an external drive,” Travis said, “It’s right under here.”

     Travis scooted his chair back and pointed under the desk. A well-sized, plastic cube with a flickering light sat at his feet.

     “Alright,” Nick said, “We may need to take that. I hope you don’t mind.”

     Judy unclipped the portable radio from her belt and raised it to her mouth. It crackled to life.

     “This is Detective Hopps to ZPD HQ, have I got ears, over?”

     There was a pause. Nick placed a gentle paw on Travis’s shoulder.

     “May I see the pictures that you talked about? Do you have those?”

     “Yeah,” Travis said, “Lemme pull them up.”

     A voice answered through Judy’s radio.

_      “Clawhauser reporting. Hopps, your coverage is a little iffy, what’s your 10-11?” _

     “In Bunnyburrow, Fangmyer case” Judy said. “We need you to call Zootopia Grand Central Station. When we arrive at HQ in approximately...2 hours, I need a full list of every train departure from two days ago. Platform Seven. Do you copy?”

     Travis opened an email revealing a line of photos. They were all of him, taken from a far distance--in the driveway getting the mail, through the window of his office, eating with Gideon at the kitchen table--all of him and Gideon, taken from around the outside of the house.

_      “Uh… yeah, copy that. Seven, you said?” _

     “That’s correct. Also, we need a safe house ready, we have two mammals who are in potential danger after a recent development, over.”

     “Jesus, this is crazy.”

     “And this is just from last month,” Travis said, “There’s hundreds of these.”

     Nick let out a slow gust of air. “How long have they been sending you these?” he asked.

     “Four years, about,” Travis said. “I don’t know how they’ve been gettin’ them.”

_      “Uh, 10-20, Hopps…--ou copy?” _

     Police code asking to repeat the message. Clawhauser’s voice was also beginning to fade in and out. Judy sighed.

     “We need a safe house,” Judy said. “Can you get one ready for us?”

     “Are these also on your external drive, Travis?”

     “Yeah,” he said, “I loaded ‘em there just in case.”

     “Okay,” Nick said, “Call Gideon up here, tell him to get packing, we’re taking you two somewhere safer.”

     Travis looked up at Nick, then he slowly and carefully nodded. He stood up from his desk and walked out into the hallway. Garbled static crackled through Judy’s receiver, and with a growl, she pounded it with the heel of her palm.

     “Of course this is a dead zone,” Judy grumbled, “Just our luck.”

     “There is a closer station,” Nick said, “Right? Could you connect through them, possibly?”

     “I don’t know how to change the wavelength,” Judy said, “Plus, it’s HQ I’m trying to contact specifically, the Bunnyburrow Sheriff Department isn’t really gonna--”

     Suddenly, Judy’s ears perked up. Her eyes darted about the room, her ears swiveling around on her head like radar. Nick nervously swallowed.

     “What?” he whispered, “What is it?”

     “Hold on…”

     Judy quietly sneaked out of the office and into the hallway. Nick followed closely behind her. Judy quickly descended the stairs and walked past the kitchen. Nick could hear Travis and Gideon talking inside.

     “...whaddya mean, what have you… _ them _ , Travis?”

     “...no, it’s not...just listen a second…”

     “...seven years... _ promised  _ me,  _ no secrets _ …”

     There was a knock at the door. The kitchen fell silent. Gideon whispered something to Travis then walked into the hall. He glanced up the stairs at Nick and Judy, then turned and opened the door. His body was blocking Judy and Nick’s view of whoever was outside.

     “Hi there!” a small voice piped, “Are you Mr. Grey?”

     “Uh, yes ma’am,” Gideon said, “I-I am.”

     “I’m a representative from the Zootopia City Council,” the voice continued, “We’re conducting a state-wide census, and we’re making an effort to include every mammal in the tri-borough area...do you think that you have a couple minutes? It won’t take very long at all.”

     Gideon sighed. “Well, I...I guess I got a little bit ‘a time, but this can’t take too long…”

     “Don’t worry sir, it won’t. If you could just start by looking through this paperwork right here…”

     Gideon was handed something, and he began to flip through it. He muttered to himself under his breath as the other mammal did something concealed from their view.

     “...Zootopia City Council, bi-annual state-wide census...so I just gotta sign--”

     There was a loud clink of metal, and Gideon suddenly crumpled to the ground. A rabbit in a well-pressed skirt and blazer stood in the doorway holding a pistol with a muffler, smoke silently trailing from the barrel. 

     Nick’s claws dug into Judy’s arm. They both stared at the bunny in the doorway in a horrified silence. Quickly, Judy reached down to her holster to grab her...

     Her dart gun. It wasn’t there.

     She had forgotten it.

     Both of them had forgotten to grab their dart guns before leaving town.

     The rabbit stepped inside over Gideon’s body sprawled on the floor. She turned to the doorway of the kitchen and raised her gun.

     “Gideon?”

     Nick yanked Judy back as she heard the trigger click again, and she heard Travis collapse to the floor, quickly followed by a loud crash of pots and pans. Nick dragged her back into Travis’s office and quickly and quietly shut the door. He whirled around to face her, a shell-shocked look in his eye.

_      “Shit!” _ he whispered,  _ “What do we do?!” _

_      “I know, I’m sorry!”  _ Judy whispered,  _ “I’m such an idiot, I forgot to grab the dart guns, there were so many other things that were--” _

_      “I’m not worried about  _ that, _ Carrots,”  _ Nick spat through his teeth, ducking under the desk and ripping the external drive from the wires connecting it,  _ “Or you know what? Yes, I am worried about that, but that’s not the point! What I’m worried about is how we’re gonna get downstairs, out the front door, in the car, and off down the highway all the while just waltzing past an assailant! I’m not used to taking on prey animals, they’re--” _

_      “Wait wait wait, what?!”  _ Judy hissed, _ “We’re gonna just  _ leave _?!” _

     Nick and Judy’s ears perked to the sudden sound of footsteps creaking up the stairs. Nick whipped his head back to Judy.

_      “Unless you see any other options,”  _ Nick whispered,  _ “That’s our best solution right now.” _

     Judy stared at him for a moment, the gears in her head pumping furiously. Suddenly, she dashed over to the window.

_      “C’mon!” _

_      “Aw, geez…” _

     Nick placed the cube on the ground and rushed to her side. They pulled up against the base of the window, but despite all of their grunting and fidgeting, the window refused to budge. They fiddled with the rusted latch, fingers and claws digging furiously into the wood surrounding it, but to no avail.

_      “It’s stuck!” _ Nick whispered.

_      “I KNOW THAT!”  _ Judy mouthed.

     Nick let go of the latch and resumed pulling against the bottom with his one remaining  arm. He glanced at Judy. She was staring anxiously at her paw, biting her lip and anxiously  shifting her weight back and forth. 

      _“What are you doing?!”_ Nick hissed.

     Judy took a deep breath.  _ “Making a  _ decision _!”  _ she breathed.

     Suddenly, with an apprehensive grimace, she balled it up into a fist and put it straight through the glass. Broken glass burst into the air, sending a cascade of crystalline knives raining down. She punched it again, sending larger and larger chunks spewing outwards. Nick quickly picked up the external drive, but suddenly Judy was grabbing his shirt and he was falling out the window.

     Beneath the window was an old set of wooden cellar doors that had obviously not been kept up with. The wood had begun to rot, and it was visibly sagging inwards. Gideon and Travis had decided not to bother with it, since there was no real use for them, and they could easily access the basement from the stairs inside. That’s why Judy and Nick were able to burst through the wood as easily as they did.

     They landed on a pile of old, empty, cardboard boxes. Nick heard Judy let out a strangled gasp for air. He quickly rolled off the crushed boxes and pushed them away from him, clearing the area. He ran to Judy, lying on her stomach.

     “Hey--hey, you okay?” he asked, “Did you get the air knocked out of you?”

     Judy wheezed and weakly nodded her head. She slowly rolled onto her side clutching her stomach, and her chest shuddered as she took in a raspy gust of air. Nick carefully grabbed her paw and began to help her up. He looked down at it and noticed her knuckles were cut and bleeding. Judy gingerly pushed herself up, and she kicked a couple stray cardboard boxes away from her. 

     “You alright?”

     “Yeah,” Judy grunted, “I’m--I’m  _ great _ \--”

     Suddenly, the distant, muffled pounding of footsteps echoed from above them. Nick and Judy looked up at the ceiling, then slowly looked down at the door at the opposite side of the room.

     “Uh oh.”

     Nick quickly picked up the cube and tossed it up and out of the now open doors. He jumped up and latched his available paw onto the edge of the doorframe, desperately trying to pull himself up. Judy quickly placed her paws beneath his right foot and gave him a push. With that, Nick launched up and over the frame, out into the long, swaying grass outside. Judy saw his bright red tail whip away, then his head suddenly appeared in the frame.

     “Alright,” he said, “C’mon, let’s get the hell outta here.”

     Just as he began to reach his paw down, Judy heard the door slam open. She whirled around to see the rabbit standing in the doorway, her gun drawn and ready. Suddenly, Judy’s ears were clipped with searing pain, and she was being lifted up and out of the window, and there was a loud clink and Judy felt something pierce her stomach…

     Nick quickly let go of Judy’s ears and dumped her on the grass, a knowing wince on his face. He looked down at his arm and began to desperately fiddle with the straps on his sling.

     “I’m sorry,” he said, “That was a jerk move, I know, that had to hurt, but I had to get--”

     He looked back down at Judy to see the numb look of terror on her face, her eyes beginning to glaze over. She was weakly pawing at her stomach. Nick’s heart flew up into his throat.

     “Oh my god...oh my god,  _ no _ \--”

     “...I...I got hit, I…”

     Nick heard the basement door slam below them and the footsteps start to pound their way up the stairs. With a swift movement, he ripped off his sling and threw it aside, then grabbed the external drive with one arm and tossed Judy over his other. He broke into a sprint, running as far as he could from the house, out into the rolling fields of yellow grass that lead to the woods. The grass sprung back up behind him, covering his path and brushing up against the bottom of his coat and tail as he ran. Suddenly, the front door of the house slammed, and Nick threw himself to the ground.

     He lay in the midst of the grass in silent anticipation. Judy lay on her back next to him, her eyelids fluttering. Nick quickly grabbed the bottom of her sweater and carefully rolled it upwards.

     “C’mon, Carrots,” he whispered with a shaky breath, “Stay with me,  _ please, god,  _ stay with me….”

     Much to Nick’s confusion, Judy’s simple white shirt was completely stainless; pristine as it had been this morning when she had put it on. Nick glanced back up at Judy. 

_      “Hey,” _ he whispered,  _ “Hey, you’re fine, it’s okay! You didn’t get hit, you’re--” _

     Nick looked back down at Judy’s stomach and fell silent. There was a tiny puncture in the lower left side of it, where it looked like a safety pin had been pushed through. In fact, Nick noticed, a tiny glint of silver was pushing out of the shirt. He carefully began to lift Judy’s…

     A gun cocked.

     Nick froze. He could feel his heart beating in his ears, his blood coursing red and hot through his veins. For a moment, he almost forgot how to breathe. 

     An eternity passed.

     Suddenly, there was a disappointed sigh, and then the sound of a small mammal trudging through the grass back towards the house.

     Now that Nick thought about it, they were farther away than he had thought. Nick felt his body relax. He kept himself down for a while longer, his chest firmly pressed into the dirt. Judy now lay completely motionless; her arms splayed outwards from her sides, her lids rested almost completely closed, and her mouth hung open by an unconscious sliver. Nick could see a tiny, tiny dot of red beginning to form around the needle sticking out of her abdomen. 

     “...Carrots? Judy? C’mon, Hopps, wake--”

     A thundering shot rang out.

     Nick jumped. He quickly lifted his head and scanned the area. He couldn’t see much through the grass, but it didn’t seem like their attacker was anywhere around. The shot had come from the house, probably far enough to be in front of it. Suddenly, a pair of tires screeched to life, and Nick quickly ducked back down. He heard a large vehicle tear down the highway and disappear into the distance.

     Nick slowly stood up and looked back towards the house. The rabbit was nowhere to be seen. There was no car, either, just the Hopps family truck where they had left it. He quickly kneeled back down next to Judy. He bent down beside her and pressed his finger against her neck.

     She still had a pulse.

     Nick let out a mixed sigh. He carefully lifted up Judy’s sweater and shirt once more. With his claws, he gingerly grabbed the needle and carefully pulled it out of her stomach. It was tipped with crimson, but something blueish seemed to trail from it. Nick carefully placed the needle in his shirt pocket. He managed to fit the external drive in one of his much larger coat pockets, given much effort and grunting.

     Nick now noticed his shoulder screaming in agony. The adrenaline in his body had completely ignored it, but now that the moment had passed, all of the telegraph lines to his brain had been re-opened. He carefully gave it a rub, but it just sent more daggers down his back. He winced, and slowly let his arms fall back to his sides.

     He looked down at Judy.

     He carefully scooped her up in his arms. Her head plopped against his chest, and her arm hung limply by her side.

     Nick slowly began to wade back through the grass towards the house.

* * *

     They had slashed their tires. They were about an hour away walking distance, and Nick wouldn’t be able to carry Judy all the way back to the center of town in his current state. Nick had managed to break into Judy’s phone and call her parents, explaining that something bad had happened, and that they needed a way back into town.

     Gideon and Travis were gone. Nick had run inside when he had smelled the smoke coming from the oven (Gideon’s peach and cinnamon pies) and their bodies were nowhere to be found. There were absolutely no traces of blood or destruction, except for the pots and pans that had been toppled over when Travis had collapsed into the counter.

     Nick also had found the result of the gunshot. The other rabbit’s body lay in the driveway next to Gideon’s van, a chunk of lead in her forehead and a pool of blood encircling her on the ground. Her gun (loaded with more needles, Nick had found) was laying by her side, right where it had fallen from her hand.

     Nick came to the solemn realization that whenever they had thought they had found an answer, only more questions seemed to rise.

     Nick suddenly sat up when he heard a car coming down the highway. He looked and saw a large tow truck chugging towards them. He picked Judy up from his lap and stepped out of the truck, staring hard at Stu through the windshield of the approaching car. It came to a steady stop a couple yards away from them, and Stu stepped out of the truck with a stunned expression.

     Nick and Stu stared at each other in a numb silence.


	17. 01010011/01110110/01101110/01110100/01100101/01100101/01101110

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the higher you climb, the harder you fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANGST! ANGST! ANGST!

     Cotton carefully creeped down the hallway toward her aunt’s room. Things had been in a complete commotion since Grampa had brought her aunt back to the house, but nobody would tell her what was going on. All she knew was that something had happened, and the doctor had come to visit a few minutes ago. As she got closer, she could hear the drone of soft, muffled voices filtering through the wall. Cotton carefully tiptoed to the door and pressed her ear against it. She couldn’t make out the words, but she could distinguish two different voices talking. One of them sounded worried and tired, and the other seemed much more calming. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching, and before she knew it, her face was suddenly met with the wooden door.

     Cotton quickly jumped back, rubbing her nose. Someone let out a gasp, and Cotton looked up to see the doctor in the doorway. He quickly adjusted his glasses and bent down.

     “Sorry about that, dalrin’,” he said, “Are you alright?”

     Cotton nodded. She gazed at her feet bashfully.

     “...Sorry…”

     “No, it’s quite alright,” the doctor said, “Just be a little more careful next time…”

     And with that, the doctor picked up his case and walked out. Cotton held the door as she watched him saunter down the hallway, his coat draped over his arm. She turned back to the door and peeked inside.

     Nick was sitting in a chair next to the bed. Cotton suddenly remembered the sling she had seen around his arm at the train station, and noticed that it was different now. It was now made out of an old rag, crudely tied around his shoulder. Someone was lying in the bed; Cotton could see their feet beneath the covers. She pushed the door open a tiny bit more, spilling a little more light from the hallway into the dark of the room. Nick straightened up and turned around. His eyes locked with Cotton’s.

     For a moment, Nick looked unrecognizable. His eyes were empty and tired, and his brow rested limply on his forehead. His trademark smile had disappeared, a somber frown in its place. But soon, that charismatic grin returned, despite the hollow eyes and fatigue resting on his face.

     “...Hey…” he said, “Is that...is that a  _ Cotton _ I see…?”

     Cotton felt herself begin to smile. She quickly nodded her head.

     “C’mon in, Baby Carrot,” Nick rasped, “Just make sure you’re quiet, you’re aunt’s asleep right now...”

     Cotton quietly tiptoed in and cautiously closed the door behind her. She quickly walked over to Nick, who scooped her up in his arm. She burst into a bout of giggles, and Nick quickly shushed her. He set her down in his lap, and she immediately silenced herself.

_      “Sorry,” _ she whispered.

     “It’s alright, kiddo…”

     Cotton turned towards the bed and saw Judy resting beneath the covers. Her eyes were shut, and her ears were loosely resting against the pillow. She had been stripped down to her sports top, and there was a patch of gauze taped to the right side of her stomach. Her right hand was also heavily bandaged. Cotton slowly looked back up at Nick.

_      “...What happened?” _ she whispered.

     Nick sighed. “We were working on a case,” he quietly explained, “And then we ran into some bad guys. They hit her with something that put her to sleep really quickly, and we’re trying to figure out what it is.”

     Cotton contemplated this. She looked back up at Nick. “How long will she be asleep?”

     Nick opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He let out a gust of air. “We dunno,” he said, “Hopefully not too long. But I think she’ll wake up soon, you’re aunt’s really strong. I know she’s fighting whatever’s going on inside her real hard right now.”

     Cotton looked back down at Judy. “Good,” she said. “I wanna talk to her.”

     Nick glanced at Cotton. “What about?”

     “I dunno,” she said, “It’s just fun.”

     “What is?”

     “Talking to her.”

    Nick chuckled to himself. “Yeah...”

     “Did the bad guys hit you, too?”

     Nick shook his head. “They just got Judy. I got us out of there before anything else could happen.”

     “Why are they chasing you?”

     “Who? The bad guys?”

     Cotton nodded. “Yeah.”

     “Well…” Nick sighed, “...We know some stuff that they don’t want us to.”

     “Like what?”

     “It’s, uh...it’s some pretty top secret stuff, that I’m not really allowed to talk about.”

     “Oh.” Cotton began to fiddle with the edge of her shirt. She glanced at Nick’s makeshift sling and pointed at it. “What happened to it?”

     “My arm? You haven’t heard yet? Oh, have I got a story to tell you…”

     “No, the thing,” Cotton said, gesturing confidently, “The arm thing. Why is it different?”

     “Oh, the  _ sling _ ,” Nick said. “I lost the first one. The doctor was nice enough to make me another one until I find a replacement.”

     “Does it hurt bad?”

     “You are just full of questions today, aren’t you?” Nick said with a playful poke at Cotton’s chest. She burst into giggles. “You’re quite the little detective all of a sudden. Here, how about I start asking  _ you _ questions, how does that sound?”

     Cotton nodded. “Okay.”

     “Okay,” Nick said. “What did you do at school today?”

     “I didn’t go to school today,” Cotton said, tugging on the edge of her ears.

     “No?” Nick asked, “Why not?”

     “Well my--my momma said that I didn’t have to go today because with--because of you and Aunt Judy were comin’ to visit, and I could come see you if I wanted.”

     “Aw, well that’s very nice of her to come let you visit.”

     “But also,” Cotton said, “I-I’m sad that I didn’t go to school today.”

     Nick raised an eyebrow. “You’re sad?” Nick asked, “Why’s that?”

     “Because it--because I didn’t see Ellie today.”

     “Ellie?” Nick said, “Is she one of your classmates?”

     “Yeah,” Cotton said, “She’s my friend, too.”

     “I see,” Nick said, “It  _ is _ pretty sad to not be with your friends.”

     “Yeah,” said Cotton.

     Suddenly, Cotton turned around to face Nick. She looked up at him seriously.

_      “Can I tell you a secret?” _ she whispered.

     “Sure,” Nick said, “What is it?”

    Cotton stood up on her knees and leaned into Nick’s ear, her hand cupped over her mouth. After a moment, she whispered with heavy meaning:

_      “I think I like her.” _

     Cotton pulled away and sat back down, looking up at Nick expectantly. A smirk appeared on Nick’s face.

     “Oh…” he said, “I see. You like her?”

     Cotton quickly shushed him. Nick raised his eyebrows and covered his mouth.

_      “Sorry!”  _ he whispered, “That’s right, it’s a secret. I forgot. Is that why you’re so sad?”

     Cotton nodded. She gazed at Nick meaningfully. “Don’t tell anyone,” she said.

     “My lips are sealed,” said Nick. “What do you like about her?”

     Cotton’s ears folded down, and a visible blush appeared on her cheeks. She began to tug on the edges of her ears.

     “Well, she’s--she’s really pretty, and-and she’s really nice...and she...and she shares her food, and...yeah.”

     “Wow,” Nick said, “Does she know?”

     Cotton tilted her head slightly. “Know what?”

     “That you--uh, your secret.”

     Cotton shook her head. “No,” she said, “I wanna tell her though.”

     “I understand,” Nick said, “It’s a hard secret to keep, right?”

     “Yeah.”

     They sat for a moment in silence. Suddenly, Cotton’s ears perked back up and she looked up at Nick.

     “Do  _ you  _ like anybody?”

     Nick’s heart stopped. He chuckled to himself and rubbed his neck. His gaze shifted to the floor, and he could feel the sweat beginning to run down his back.

     “Uh…” he coughed, “Yeah. Yeah, there’s somebody I like…”

     Cotton gasped and inched closer to him.  _ “Who is it?” _ she whispered.

     Nick glanced at Judy on the bed. “Well, uh...y-you wouldn’t know them, Cotton, they live back in Zootopia.”

     “What’s their name?”

     Nick swallowed hard.

     “...It’s uh...It’s hard to pronounce.” he muttered.

     “Oh,” Cotton said. “Are they pretty?”

     Nick nervously smiled with a brief gust of air. “Yeah, they’re--they’re pretty... _ really  _ pretty…”

     “Are they nice?”

     Nick chuckled. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

     “Do they know?” Cotton asked.

     Nick let out a sigh, his eyes locked on Judy in the bed. He thought back to two nights ago, when Judy’s words had echoed through his head. It had kept him up all night. He had wanted so desperately to wake her up, to say  _ yes, yes I would want that, Judy, it would make me  so happy _ ...

     But part of him had kept him frozen; the part of him that had said  _ no, she doesn’t really want you, she only wants the  _ idea _ of you, if she found out what was really hidden inside here she would turn her back on you, just like the rest of the world… _

     “I don’t know,” Nick said. “Maybe. I’m not sure.”

     “Do you know if--do you--do they like you back?”

     Nick gulped, and he forced a weak smile. “They might,” he said, “But I don’t think they really do.”

     Cotton’s ears fell. “Oh…” she said, “...I’m sorry…”

     “Nah, it’s alright,” Nick said, “It’s not like it’s their fault, right?”

     “I--I guess so…”

     A quiet noise came from the bed.

     Nick snapped his head towards Judy, his eyes wide. Her breathing had gotten quicker, and her brow was twitching. Cotton hopped off of his lap and leaned against the bed.

_      “Judy?” _ she whispered.

     Judy slowly began to stir. She began to shift her position, and Nick quickly grabbed her paw.

     “Hey,” he said softly, “Hey, it’s okay, you’re okay…”

_      “...Nick…” _

     Cotton looked up at him, her eyes wide. Nick glanced at her, then back at Judy in the bed.

     “Yeah, it’s--it’s me,” he stammered, “I’m right here, it’s okay--”

_      “Nick...Nick, we--we have to…” _

     “What?” Nick asked, “What is it?”

     Judy’s eyes slowly peeled open to a sliver, then suddenly, they burst wide open in fear. Judy quickly sat up with a shout.

_      “NICK!” _

     “Hey, hey, hey!” Nick said, “It’s alright, it’s okay, Carrots, I’m right here…”

     Judy whipped her head towards him, her eyes filled with fear and confusion. Nick gently touched Judy’s shoulder and spoke to her in a calm, quiet voice.

     “We’re back at your parents place,” he explained softly, “We’re in your room. We aren’t in any danger, we’re safe, we got away--”

     “But th--the hard drive--”

     “We got it, it’s in my coat. Lie back down, you’re hurt.”

     “What--where did--”

     Judy’s eyes suddenly fell upon Cotton cowering in the corner. She was looking up at Judy with startled eyes, her ears folded back behind her. Judy’s breathing slowed, and her ears gently fell down to her sides.

     “...Oh…” she said softly, “...Hey there, Baby Bunny...are you alright? Did I--did I scare you?”

     Cotton quietly nodded.

     Judy quietly groaned and held a paw to her forehead. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry,” she said, “I didn’t mean to, just--c’mere…”

     Judy held out her arms, and Cotton came running to her. She hopped up onto the bed and threw herself around Judy. Judy winced, but squeezed back.

     “What’re you doing down here?” she asked.

     “No one--nobody was saying to me what was going on,” Cotton said, “And I got scared.”

     “Aw, honey, I’m sorry. Everybody was probably just really nervous,” Judy said. “Are you alright?”

     Cotton nodded and wiped her nose. Judy smiled at her and rubbed the top of her head.

     “Listen,” she said, “I wanna talk to you later, but right now I gotta talk to this guy over here for a little bit in private, okay? Where’s your mom?”

     Cotton swallowed. “Upstairs.”

     “You mean you’re down here all alone?” Judy asked, “Allie--your mom let you come down here by yourself?”

     Cotton took a deep breath and tugged at the hem of her shirt. “Yes,” she said.

     Judy slowly raised a suspicious eyebrow.

     Cotton’s ears slowly folded back, and she looked down at her feet. “...No…”

     “Well then,” Judy said, “You better get back up there before she realizes you’re gone, right?”

     Cotton nodded seriously. “Okay,” she said, hopping down off the bed.

     “You know how to get back up, right?” Judy asked.

     Cotton opened the door. “Yeah,” she said over her shoulder.

     Judy sat up a little higher and craned her neck. “Hey, Cotton!” she called.

     The door cracked back open, and Cotton peeked her head inside.

     “I love you, Baby Bunny.”

     Cotton smiled. “I love you too.”

     “Good. We’ll hang out later, alright?”

     “Okay!”

     And with that, the door shut, and Cotton’s footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

     Nick turned to Judy with a smirk. He rubbed his eyes.

     “She is just one big fuzzy ball of energy,” he said, “You know that right?”

     Judy stared at him with a broken look. She let out a gust of air.

     “What happened?”

     Nick sighed and let his hand fall to his side. “You got shot with something,” he said, “Some kind of...I dunno, dart or something, laced with what we’re guessing was a tranquilizer. It was a little needle, about an inch and a half long. Went straight into your abdomen.”

     Judy slowly began to open and close her paws. “That must’ve been some powerful stuff,” she said, “My paws feel like they’re made of stuffing.”

     “That’s probably just one of the side effects,” Nick said. “The doctor’s taking it back to the lab to analyze it. But here’s the thing, Carrots, when I checked her gun afterwards, I didn’t see any bullets or anything else, just a bunch of those--”

     “When you checked the--what?” Judy asked. “When did you…?”

     Nick sighed. “The...the rabbit who...she's dead, Judy,” he said. “She was shot by her driver, or whoever else was in that car, and they took off with Travis and Gideon. They left her face-down in the driveway with the gun next to her.”

     “What?” Judy said. “Why did they…”

     Nick shrugged. “I have no clue,” he said. “But I know that in her gun, there were only those little dart things. Judy, I don’t think Travis and Gideon are dead.”

     Judy’s ears slowly stood up. Her eyes slowly grew, a finger raising beside her.

     “...So…” she began, “So that means--”

    “--That means they must have wanted them alive, for some reason,” Nick said.

     “Do the mammals back at the precinct know about any of this?”

     Nick sighed. “No,” he said, “We’re still in a dead area. That’s why we had the town doctor come check on you, he was the only one we could really contact.”

     “What about calling them?” Judy asked.

     “Both our phones are dead,” Nick said, “After I called your dad on yours, it died, then when I checked mine a couple minutes later, it was dead as well.”

      Judy slowly sat back against the headboard. She rubbed the spot on her stomach that was adorned with gauze. She winced and grunted.

     “Sweet cheese and  _ crackers _ ,” she groaned, “How deep did that thing go?”

     “Almost the whole way in,” Nick said, “I had to pull it out with my claws.”

      Judy grimaced. “Gross.”

     “Yeah,” Nick said, “It was like one of those really bad horror movies you make me watch.”

     Judy chuckled. She flopped back onto her pillow and scanned her room with her eyes. Suddenly, she let out a weak laugh.

     “What?” Nick asked, “What is it?”

     Judy wiped a tear from her eye and chuckled. “Nothing, it’s--it’s just the clock, see?” she said, pointing at the wall, “It’s only 11:30…”

* * *

     The clock on Honey’s desktop read 1:08 p.m.. She stared at the piles of mammal ID files spread across the desk in front of her, all read from top to bottom. This detective shit was definitely a lot more paperwork than she had imagined it to be.

     She and Jack had checked through every security cam, every phone call recording, every email of every cheetah in Zootopia, and there was absolutely no trace of the mammal they were looking for. It was almost as if he hadn’t even existed in the first place. Obviously, Nick’s gash on the top of his shoulder was evidence to the contrary, but there were still no leads to be found. Honey was at the point of just saying  _ fuck it,  _ and trying to decide whether or not to convince Jack to take her to Bug Burga.

_      Wait, _ she thought, _ where the hell  _ was _ Jack? _

     Honey looked up to see Jack leaning against the window sill, staring out into the bumbling city. They were still in the conference room, and they had been mostly cooped up in there for three to four hours. She suspected that the recycled air had gotten to his head a little bit, and maybe his mind had begun to drift away.

     “Hey, Savage,” she called, “What’s up with you, Bunny Boy?”

     Jack let out a long sigh, his eyes still glued out the window.

     “Why aren’t they back yet?” he said. “It’s been four and a half hours.”

     “I dunno,” Honey said, “Maybe they just had to talk to this Gideon guy for a while, get him to cooperate.”

     “Why haven’t they called us, though?” Jack said, “Clawhauser said that their radio signal cut out, and since then we haven’t gotten word from them about...well, anything.”

     “Are...are you worried?”

     Jack stared out the window for a moment longer, silent. Then, he broke his gaze from outside and turned to Honey.

     “I think something’s happened,” he said. “I don’t know what, but I think something’s gone wrong.”

     “Aw, c’mon, I think they got their shit together,” Honey said. “You shoulda seen Hopps when she threatened me a day or so ago, I felt like I was gonna die, man.”

     “I just…” Jack said, “I just think that I should have gone with them.  _ We  _ should have gone with them.”

     “What,” Honey said, “And risk interrupting their make-out sesh on the train?”

     Jack sighed and rubbed his eyes.

     Honey shifted in her chair. “Are you into her?” she asked, adjusting her glasses on her face.

     Jack slowly raised his head before finally locking eyes with her. There was a moment of silence.

     “...I beg your pardon?”

     “I can’t tell with you,” she said, “You’re so...I dunno…”

     “Aloof?”

     “Yeah. Shit. Took the words right outta my mouth.”

     Jack snickered and looked down at the ground.

     “Yeah,” he said, “I get that a lot.”

     “Well,” Honey continued, “Are you gonna answer my question or not?”

     Jack looked up at her for a moment, reading her face. Suddenly, a smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth.

     “Why?” he asked, “Are you trying to weigh your chances?”

     The doors burst open. Nick and Judy slowly stumbled in, absolutely enveloped with fatigue. Honey straightened up in her chair, and Jack stood up from the window. Nick and Judy pulled out their chairs and collapsed at the table.

     “Where the hell have you been?” Jack said, “It’s been four and half hours, what happened?”

     “Nice to see you too, Mr. Savage,” Nick mumbled.

     “Christ,” Honey said, “You two look like absolute  _ hell _ .”

     Nick snickered. “You don’t look too hot yourself, Bush-Top.”

     “God,” she said, “You guys can  _ not  _ imagine the type of morning we’ve had…”

      Judy and Nick slowly looked up at Honey with a glare as cold as steel. Honey’s casual smirk immediately fell. She shrunk into her chair.

     “Oh my--Oh my  _ god, _ ” she said, “Did I-did I say something?”

     Judy took a deep breath. “We all need to  _ talk. _ ”


	18. 01000101/01101001/01100111/01101000/01110100/01100101/01100101/01101110

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hover through the fog and misty air

     Dylan Fangmyer’s body was found tangled in trails of vines at the foot of the Tujunga canal. It had been found by a young panther on her way home from school with her friends. She had been riding her bike down the street, having just said goodbye to the rest of her friends (who had taken a right at El Dolero), when she suddenly picked up the scent. She had stopped over by the side of the road and had followed the scent all the way down the side of the hill, pushing through the bushes and trees, until she had found him floating there, blanketed in moss.

     10 minutes later, a T.U.S.K. team showed up at the scene, and after detecting something infecting the air, set up a quarantine within a mile radius. The young panther was taken to the hospital to be treated for any diseases, and was put on heavy watch.

     Judy, Jack, and Nick showed up twenty minutes later, the first of the ZPD to arrive.

     Jack stepped out of the patrol car with purpose, and began to plow towards the tent that had been erected at the side of the road. Judy and Nick quickly followed behind him, looking at the mammals in hazmat suits and strange instruments milling about. Next to the flap of the tent stood an elephant, wearing a nice black suit and with an earpiece resting in his ear. He quickly stopped them.

     “I’m sorry,” he said, “Authorized mammalia only--”

     “I’m aware of that,” Jack said coldly, “Please step aside--”

     “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

     Jack angrily reached into his coat and pulled out the lanyard hanging around his neck. He flashed his ID to the elephant.

     “If you do not let me into this damn tent,” he said, “Then by God, I will knock down any mammal who steps in my way. Now if you please, could you kindly step out of the way?”

     The elephant eyed him coldly. He glanced at Nick and Judy. They quickly fumbled for their badges and held them up. The elephant looked back down at Jack.

     “Go to the sanitation tent,” he said, “Get yourselves some suits. I’m not lettin’ you in like that. Fox, what’s your injury?”

     Jack and Judy looked back at Nick. His eyes darted nervously.

     “S-sorry?”

     “You got any open wounds?”

     “Uh--” Nick stammered, “Yeah, I’ve got a cut on my shoulder, but--”

     “Sorry, buddy, can’t let you in,” the elephant answered gruffly. “Even with the filtration suits, there’s still a possibility of stuff entering your system through open skin. I’m not the one makin’ the rules, just part of regulations.”

     Jack groaned and rubbed his eyes. He turned to Nick with a sigh.

     “No no, he’s right,” Jack said, “You’re just gonna have to wait out here.”

     “Seriously?” Judy said. “Are you sure he can’t just--”

     “No,” Jack said. “Believe me, I wish he could too. Look, Detective Wilde, are you alright with this? I’m sorry, it’s just--”

     “No!” Nick said, “No, it’s fine! I’ll just...yeah, I’ll just, get some Bug-Burga or somethin’, you two can have fun.”

    “Alright,” Jack said, “I’m glad you understand. Again, I’m sorry.”

     Jack turned to Judy and motioned for her to follow her. He started to walk towards a van with a light blue tent propped up next to it. Judy began to follow, but she stopped to look at Nick. She sighed.

     “Are you really gonna leave?” she asked.

     “What, are you kidding?” Nick said, “Of course not. I’ll just...I’ll just hang out ‘til you guys are done, it’ll be fine.”

     Judy smiled weakly and nodded. “Okay,” she said.

     She began to walk towards the van, and she heard the sprinklers in the air above them powering up. It would start raining soon. Judy stopped a couple feet from the flap and turned back towards Nick.

     He was staring at her. His eyes looked so...tired. They had already been up for almost twelve hours, and it was really beginning to show. Nick’s eyes suddenly darted towards the ground, and he began to rub the back of his neck.

     “Hey!” Judy shouted. “Did I ever thank you?”

     Nick’s ears swiveled around, and he raised his head.

     “...For...for what?”

     “For...you know…” she said, “...saving us?”

     A grin began to appear at the corners of Nick’s mouth. He bashfully looked at the ground again.

     “No,” he said, “I don’t believe you did, Carrots.”

     Judy smiled at him slyly. “...Huh…” she said with an eyebrow.

     And with that, she turned around and started back to the tent. Nick winced and chuckled to himself.

     “You _sly_ bunny,” he called playful.

     “You bet your tail I am, Slick!” Judy threw over her shoulder as she ducked into the tent.

* * *

     Judy carefully zipped up the front of her suit and folded the large helmet over her head. The otter helping her pressed a button on the side, and a pair of LED lights lit up inside, illuminating her face. She let out a gasp. The otter walked in front of her and placed the radio control pad around her wrist. Judy went over the instructions of how to work in it her head: press green to open the line permanently, press and hold yellow for temporary broadcasts.

     Suddenly, the speaker inside her helmet crackled to life.

 _“Judy,”_ a voice said, _“Can you hear me?”_

     Judy turned to see Jack standing in the opposite corner, his finger pressed firmly on the yellow button on his wrist. He was looking at her expectantly. Judy quickly pressed the yellow button on hers.

     “Yeah,” she said, “Loud and clear.”

 _“Great,”_ Jack said, _“Are you ready?”_

     “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said. “How about you?”

     Jack paused for a moment, a bit surprised. After a moment, he pressed the button again.

 _“Uh...yeah,”_ he said.

     “...Are you _sure?_ ”

 _“Yes,”_ he said, _“Sorry, it’s just--nobody has really asked me before, so…”_

* * *

     The entrance at the side of the road was actually one, long hallway that lead to the main tent that had been set up. It was like walking through one big, white, plastic tube. The sound of the rain was light and muffled, lessened both by the plastic walls and the helmet on Judy’s head. It almost felt like she wasn’t really in the same dimension.

     Suddenly, a hazmatted pangolin appeared from around the corner. They pressed the green button on their wrist.

 _“Agent Savage and Detective Hopps?”_ a voice crackled.

 _“Yes,”_ Jack answered.

     The pangolin nodded, then turned over his shoulder and gestured down the hallway.

_“Right this way, folks…”_

* * *

     Nick sat in the patrol car, his phone on the dashboard in front of him. Honey was displayed on the screen, her computer next to her on the desk in the conference room.

 _“That blows, man,”_ she said, _“Fuck them, seriously.”_

     “Nah, I-I get it, though,” Nick said, “They’re right, I guess. It could get infected, and they don’t know what it is, so they don’t really know how to treat it at this point…”

 _“Sounds like the beginning of a zombie movie or something, if you ask me,”_ she said. _“You ever see that movie,_ Zombeaver _or whatever--”_

     “Honey,” Nick interrupted, “You said you found something.”

 _“Oh yeah, sorry,”_ Honey said. _“I got those train departures for ya.”_

     Honey typed something into her computer offscreen for a moment, then sat back and raised her hands behind her head.

_“Alright, so, Monday the 8th, from platform 7 at 9:15 a.m., a train on the Safari line left Zootopia Grand Central, heading towards Praia de Pele, Fleecadonia.”_

     “He went to _Fleecadonia?_ ” Nick asked.

 _“I know, right?”_ Honey said, _“I heard that place was better than the Baahamas.”_

     “Uh-huh, and you would know,” Nick said. “Geez...maybe he _is_ on vacation.”

 _“...I mean, from the way it looks…”_ Honey said, slowly juggling her wrists in the air, _“He’s probably just chillin’ out at the beach. Unless that’s considered an evil thing, then...I don’t know what to tell ya.”_

     “Did it--did it stop anywhere?” Nick asked.

_“Uh...no...no, it didn’t, it says here that it went straight there, no stops.”_

     Nick rubbed his temple in thought. Was there really no connection to Orshak leaving the country and Dylan’s death? Was there really no significance? Were they just making links between something sinister and an innocent yearly holiday? No, they edited the security footage, there had to be something more to it...

     Suddenly, Nick adjusted his position and leaned against the car window.

     “Get me a list of hotels within a twenty-mile radius of Paravilla Station,” he said, “That’s where he got off, right?”

 _“Yeah,”_ said Honey, _“Lemme take a look.”_

* * *

     Judy was frozen. About twelve feet away from her, suspended in a sling above the river, was Dylan’s body. His eyes were cloudy, and his fur was matted down awkwardly. There were patches of algae and fungus covering his body, some even beginning to sprout around the corners of his mouth.

 _“We’ve already checked the prints,”_ the pangolin continued, _“And it’s him. He still has the exit wound in the back of his cranium, right between his ears. We traced the cavity all the way to the back of his throat.”_

_“How long do you think he’s been floating around down here?” Jack asked._

_“Well, only a day or so,”_ the pangolin answered _. “So that fungus buildup can’t be from natural decay.”_

 _“Do we know what it is yet?”_ Jack asked, _“What species, the cause, anything?”_

 _“We’re having some folks analyze it in the lab,”_ said the pangolin, _“We’re guessing it’s some infection gone rogue since he expired. Probably nothing too big, but just in case, we quarantined the area.”_

     “Who’s gonna identify the body?” Judy said.

_“What about the cub that found him, is she being tended to?”_

_“Yeah, she was sent back to Zootopia Med--”_

     “Who’s gonna identify the body?” Judy repeated, holding the yellow button on her wrist.

     Jack and the other mammal looked over at her. The pangolin took in a deep breath.

 _“Well…”_ he began, _“I don’t believe there’s much of a point...we’ve already matched the pawprints, and--”_

     “But shouldn’t somebody identify him?” Judy said, “Face-to-face? You know, a relative, a school friend, anybody?”

 _“Well, his parents have gone missing,”_ Jack said, _“Which, well, is a problem in itself, and his sister is in the hospital. I’m not sure where we can obtain information on who his acquaintances were, but I’m sure we can call his extended family…”_

     Judy let out a quivering sigh, and watched as her breath lightly fogged up the bottom of the glass on her helmet. She just began to notice the other mammals milling about inside the tent, waving around weird instruments and taking samples of the water and grass.

     “Alright,” Judy said, “I just want to make sure, through and through, that this is him.”

* * *

_“Planche a Voile, Paradise Inn...I mean, by now we’ve reached the twenty mile checkpoint, Foxy.”_

     Nick sat with his chin in his hands, his eyes watching the rain trickle down the side of the window. He let out a slow sigh.

     “Sorry, start, uh--start from the beginning again, for me?”

_“Aw, seriously, dude? I gotta scroll all the way back up the--”_

     “Honey, _please._ ”

     Honey sighed and scrolled back up with her computer mouse. After a moment, she raised her hand from the keyboard and gave it a good shake.

 _“Alright,”_ she said, _“From the beginning, as requested…”_

     She began to read the list off once more. Nick’s ears turned towards the phone, letting Honey’s words filter into his brain. Suddenly, he stopped her.

     “Read that one again…”

_“...Oasis Hotel?”_

     “Yeah. There’s one of those in Sahara, right?”

_“Yeah, yeah.”_

     “I have an idea, go on their website.”

_“...Ooooookay…”_

     Honey typed something into the keyboard, then waited a moment. She glanced at Nick through the phone.

_“Whaddya want me to find?”_

     “Go to the Fleecadonia location's page.”

_“Okay, boom. Now what?”_

     “What events are going on this month?”

_“Uh…lemme look…”_

     Honey clicked her mouse a couple times, then began to scroll through the page. She cleared her throat.

_“Okay. Marriage between Lily Jumbeaux and Rodney Eleforte...yadda yadda yadda, okay...wh--holy shit.”_

    Nick glanced up at the phone. Honey was leaning in towards her computer, reading quietly to herself.

     “...What?”

_“No fucking--this can not--there is no way they are this stupid.”_

     “What, what is it?”

     Honey leaned closer to the computer. She adjusted her glasses with her paw.

_“ ‘Better Lives Organization to hold benefit dinner on the 20th. Cancer research organization to hold annual fundraising banquet in support of those affected by lung, skin, and pancreatic cancer. By invitation only, apply for tickets here.’ Then there’s a link.”_

     Nick gaped at Honey. She looked up at him.

     “Are you serious?”

_“I shit you not, this is what it--look at this--”_

     Honey picked up her computer and turned the screen towards the camera. Her cursor was placed on a link, just as she had just read aloud. Nick let out a gust of air.

     “Click on the link.”

     Honey placed her computer back on the desk and clicked her mouse. After a moment, her eyebrows shot up.

_“Wow.”_

    “What?”

 _“They--”_ she stuttered, _“They have a--a website. A really fancy website that looks like a fuckin--like a science lab organization, it’s not like--there’s a link to order an invitation.”_

     “Okay, stop. Don’t do anything. Wait until we get back, then we’ll take it from there.”

_“Sure thing, chief.”_

     Suddenly, Honey’s computer made a noise. She raised an eyebrow.

     “What?” Nick asked, “What was that?”

_“An email, apparently.”_

     There was a moment of silence as Honey navigated through her computer. Her paws rapidly flew across the keyboard, and her eyes darted over the screen. Suddenly, she gasped.

_“Oh fuck.”_

     “What.”

_“moonharvest85@mhab.blo.324 has sent me an email.”_

     “Do not open it,” Nick said, sitting up in his seat, “Don’t--listen, we’ll be back soon, okay?”

     Nick glanced out the window to see Jack and Judy emerging from the tent. He popped open the door and got out of the car, and he began to walk towards them. Judy lifted off her helmet.

     “Was it him?” Nick asked.

     “Yeah,” said Judy, “We want and try to get a member of the family to identify him, though, so we have to--what’s...what’s wrong?”

     “We have some stuff we have to go over,” Nick said, “How soon can we get back to Savannah?”

     There was a muffled vibrating sound. Judy unzipped her hazmat suit and reached into her pants pocket. She pulled out her phone and held it up to her face.

     “Who is it?” Jack asked.

     “It’s my...it’s my sister,” she said, “Alice. I wonder why she’s...hold on.”

     Judy pressed accept and held her phone up to her ear. She cleared her throat.

     “Hey, Alice? What’s going on?”

     There was a pause. Suddenly, Judy’s ears fell.

     “What?”

     “What is it?” Nick asked, “What’s wrong?”

     “She’s--are you sure, is she not--Al--Alice, hold on, slow down. Where did you see her last?”

     “What’s going on, Carrots?”

     Judy held up a finger. She listened for a moment longer. Her eyes suddenly bulged.

     “There was--a _what?”_

     Nick and Jack watched her in silent anticipation. Judy quickly moved the phone to her other ear as she began to quickly pull her legs out of the hazmat suit.

     “Okay, we’re on our way right now, call the police and get them there first, okay? I don’t know how soon we’ll be able to--just--we’re coming, alright? We’re coming.”

     Judy quickly hung up and shoved her phone back in her pocket. She suddenly dashed past Nick and ran around the side of the patrol car.

     “What is it?” Nick shouted, “What’s going on?”

     Judy stopped and looked at Nick, her eyes full of fear.

     “It’s Cotton,” she said, “They have Cotton.”


	19. 01001110/01101001/01101110/01100101/01110100/01100101/01100101/01101110

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> >monsters are real, and so are ghosts, too.
> 
> >they live inside us, and sometimes...
> 
> >...they win.

     The police helicopter landed in the middle of the road, a couple hundred feet from the house. The entire Hopps clan was gathered outside of it. As soon as Judy jumped out, one broke from the crowd and began to run toward her. Judy broke into a sprint.

_“Judy! Oh my god--”_

     “Alice! What happened?! Where did you--”

     The bunny threw herself around Judy, sobbing. Judy quickly shushed her and placed her paws on her shoulders, carefully raising her chest. She looked at her firmly but carefully.

     “Allie, what happened? When did you see her last?”

     “When you two got back,” Alice choked, “Earlier this morning when you were hurt...I-I thought she was with the rest of the kits, but then when it came time to leave, I went looking for her, and--”

     “You didn’t know she snuck down to see me?”

     “...No,” she said, “No, I--she snuck down to--”

     “She wanted to come and talk to me,” Judy carefully explained, “She was just scared about me, she wanted to make sure I was alright. After a minute or so she left to go back upstairs. You didn’t see her?”

     “No!” Alice said, “I-I didn’t, I didn’t know that--”

     “We looked everywhere, Judy,” a voice called from behind them, “She wasn’t out in the barn, or the fields, or anywhere.”

     Judy turned to see Ed, Alice’s husband, jogging towards them. Judy let go of Alice’s shoulders and turned to him. Behind her, Nick stood a good 30 or so feet away, watching with empty eyes. Jack was slowly stumbling out of the copter, his eyes glued to the ground.

     “Did the Sheriff Department show up yet?” Judy asked.

     “Yeah,” Ed panted, lightly clutching his chest, “They’re sweeping the burrow right now. We gave them the...the note--”

     “Oh my god, the note, Judy I--”

     “Where are they?” Judy said, “I wanna see it, who has it?”

     “Well I-I reckon the Chief’s got it, he should be right by the patrol trucks--”

     “Okay,” she said, “Let me--I’ll be right back.”

     Judy quickly pushed past them and began to march towards the grouping of cars around the entrance. Nick quickly dashed up to meet her. He adjusted his arm sling.

     “Did they tell you what was on it on the phone?” he asked.

     “No,” Judy said, “They just said there was one.”

     “Are you sure it’s them?”

     “ ‘With a bug logo on it and some weird monogram’?” Judy asked. “Who else is it?”

* * *

_1.) You are to send Detective Wilde and Hopps to the location, unarmed_

_2.) You are to pay $20,000 dollars to the registered bank account whose name wil be given to you in the next three days_

_3.) Any future orders or transactions will be followed without question_

_Failure to follow any of these steps will result in the death of Cotton Greyhare, and more hostages will be taken until our demands are met._

_Thank you for your cooperation,_

_-BLO_

 

     Judy read the message over and over again, the words just scraping past her brain no matter how many times she read. Nick leaned against the door of the house and stared out into the fields, lost in thought. The sheriff stood in front of Judy, his arms folded in front of him. He let out a long sigh.

     “I dunno who these punks think they are,” the sheriff said, “But they sure mean business. You don’t think they’ll actually _kill_ her, do ya?”

     Judy looked up at him with a somber stare.

     “You don’t know these mammals,” Judy said. “They’re dangerous, they’re...they aren’t afraid to do _anything_.”

     “It doesn’t say anything about bringing more officers,” Nick said suddenly. “It just says that we have to be unarmed, just the two of us. It didn’t say we had to come alone.”

     “Are we willing to risk that though?”

     “And what,” Nick asked, “Go in there _alone_ , instead? We don’t know what’s in there waiting for us.”

     “The thing I don’t get,” the sheriff said, “Is how they want you to show up somewhere, but it don’t say _where._ It don’t make any sense, I mean...how are they expectin’ you to show up in the first place.”

     Nick’s phone suddenly came to life in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out and checked the number.

     “It’s Honey,” he said.

     He accepted the call and held his phone up in front of him. Honey’s image appeared on the screen, frazzled.

 _“Okay,”_ she said, _“Lemme preface this by saying I’m sorry that I completely ignored your advice and did exactly what you told me not to do, but this is something that you’ve gotta see.”_

      “Okay, what--what did you do?”

_“I opened the email. There was a video attachment, and I watched it, and you j--you gotta take a look.”_

     Honey picked up her computer and turned it towards the phone. The ink-drawn moth was displayed on the screen. Nick gestured for Judy to come over, and she quickly dashed to his side. They watched as Honey pressed play.

     The screen remained on the moth for a moment as faint static filtered through the speakers. Suddenly, the screen cut to a small gray rabbit sitting in a wooden chair, her wrists adorned with gauze. She held a piece of paper in front of her, and she was looking offscreen towards the right. A voice whispered for her to 'go ahead'.

     “Oh my god,” Judy said, “Cotton! What did they--”

     “Shhh! Hold on, just--let’s wait a second...”

     Cotton looked back down at the piece of paper for a moment, her paws beginning to tremble. She swallowed.

_“...W...W-Wendy...Echo...Airplane, Rumble, Echo--”_

     Judy raised a paw to her mouth. “Oh my god--” she whispered.

     Nick sighed and rolled his eyes. “Sweet cheese and crackers--”

_“--Tango, Heaven, Echo, Rumble, Echo, Violet, Oscar, Lighthouse...Um--umbl--umberella…”_

     Cotton’s eyes quickly darted back offscreen. After a moment, she went back to the paper.

_“...T-tango, Inside, Oscar, Nighttime…”_

     Cotton looked up uncertainly and glanced back offscreen. A voice whispered something. Suddenly, there was some rustling behind the camera, and Cotton whipped her head towards it. Her eyes began to widen and she slowly began to inch back in her seat, whimpering.

     A large rhino came into frame, holding an oxygen mask with a large tank attached to it. Another mammal came behind Cotton and grabbed her arms, keeping her in her seat. She began to scream as the Rhino grabbed her head and placed the mask over her mouth.

     The video stuttered and then cut out.

     “NO!” Judy shouted, “No, they--what did they--!”

     “Honey,” Nick said, “You better tell me right now that you’ve got an IP address!”

 _“Almost located,”_ Honey said, _“It’s in the outskirts of Savannah Central somewhere. I also pounded out that code, lemme--”_

     “Wait, stop!” Judy said, “What does the code say?”

     Honey looked up at the camera with nervous eyes.

_“...It--It spelled out ‘We Are The Revolution’...”_

     Honey’s computer made a noise. She looked at it and furrowed her brow.

     “What? What is it?”

_“Got it. It’s in this...this big ‘ol warehouse near the Brook Bridge...y’know, that huge, rusty air-hanger lookin’ thing next to that old little cobblestone--”_

     “Got it,” Judy said, “We’re on our way, stay put.”

_“You got it...I mean, it’s not like I’m goin’ anywhere, or any--”_

     Nick hung up and shoved the phone back in his pocket. The sheriff cleared his throat.

     “So, uh...what now? Where do we go?”

     “Don’t worry about it,” Nick said, beginning to turn towards the helicopter in the distance, “We’ll handle it. Stay here and make sure the family keeps their head. Tell them that we’ve found a lead, and we're gonna chase it immediately. We don't know when we'll be back...”

     Nick turned and broke into a run towards the helicopter, Judy following close behind. Judy wiped her nose as she glanced over at Nick.

     “We’re gonna have to radio Clawhauser!” she said, “Tell him to send out a team to meet us when we get there, give him the address from Honey!”

     “Good,” Nick said. “I just...ugh…”

     “...What?”

     “...Just hope she’s still in one piece when we get there…”

     Nick and Judy looked back up the road to see Jack approaching them. He began to slow down as they ran closer. He subconsciously straightened his tie.

     “...Wait, wait, wh--what’s going on?”

     “We have a location!” Judy said quickly, “We’re gonna go get her before it’s too late!”

     “What? So wh--we’re getting back in the--”

     “Yes!” Judy shouted, “Come on!”

* * *

     Judy and Nick stood looking at the door of the warehouse in front of them. Its windows were dusty and shattered, some of them boarded up. It was, as Honey described it, an old abandoned aircraft hanger. Decades of rust had built up on the roof and walls, turning the old silver to a rotten brown. Red and blue flashed against them, the patrol cars surrounding them from a distance. Judy glanced back at the officers placed behind their cars, their dart guns poised and ready. Nick gently tapped her shoulder.

     “Alright, Carrots,” he said, “You ready?”

     Judy sighed. “Yeah,” she said, “Let’s do this.”

     Judy and Nick approached the large, metal door of the warehouse, and Nick gave it a couple firm raps.

     “Knock knock,” he called, “Anybody home? We’re here, just like you said…”

     Silence answered. Nick cleared his throat.

     “We don’t have any weapons...no tranquilizers or anything. It's just us. Can we come in?”

     More silence. He sighed and grabbed the handle of the door.

     He pulled it towards the right and it slowly began to slide open. Judy grasped the handle as well and gave it a good shove. The wheels attached to the top of it screamed with rust, but eventually, the door came to a stop. Nick and Judy stood back, panting.

     The hanger was dark. Small tunnels of light filtered in through the windows, caught by the dust swirling in the air. The floor was completely barren, except for the shards of a brown wooden chair strewn in the middle of the room.

     Judy gasped, and she quickly stepped inside. Nick followed her closely. The immenseness of the space only emphasized their smallness. They slowly trudged towards the middle of the room, carefully scanning the shadowed corners around them. Judy cupped a hand around her mouth.

     “...Cotton?...Cotton?!”

     “...Hey, Baby Carrot? You in here?!”

     “...It’s...It’s Judy, sweetheart, we’re here to come get you!”

     Their voices echoed through the rafters. Judy stopped in the center of the room and let out a sigh.

     “Did they...did they leave?” she breathed. “We-we did everything they said, we…”

     “I don’t know,” Nick said. “Maybe they tricked us, maybe this isn’t the right place…”

     “But, but this is the chair, right here!” Judy said, bending down to pick up a fragment of wood, “This is it, the one she was sitting in, right?”

     “But where’s _she_?”

     “I...I don’t…”

     “Look,” Nick said, “Maybe they planted it, okay? Maybe this isn’t it. Or maybe it is, but maybe they just brought it here to lead us on some...some sort of wild goose chase or something.”

     “But...God, I just wanted her to…”

     “I know,” Nick said, “I know. We all did. But you know that these guys aren’t makin’ it easy for us. Look, all I’m saying is that _maybe--_ ”

     Judy’s ears shot up. Her eyes bolted left and right, her nose twitching furiously. Nick leaned towards her.

     “What? Where is it?”

     Judy’s ears twitched some more, until suddenly, she turned to the back corner of the hanger and raised a finger.

     “Over there. There’s--there’s something…”

     Nick looked over her shoulder into the darkness. He began to quietly tiptoe towards the direction Judy had pointed, carefully sniffing the air. Suddenly, his eyes fell upon something, and he straightened up.

     “What?” Judy said, “Do you see something?”

     “It’s--oh my god, it’s--it’s her.”

     “What?!”

     Judy pushed past him and began to run towards the darkness. Nick began to slowly follow behind her, peering at the small rabbit lying on the floor in the corner, her fur matted with dirt…

     “Cotton? Cotton! Is that you, sweetie?! Are you alright?!”

     “She-she isn’t bleeding, or, I don’t smell any…”

     “Sweet cheese and crackers, what happened to you?!…”

     Judy was now only 20 or so feet from Cotton, and Cotton was beginning to stir. Nick took in a deep breath through his nose.

     And something made him pause suddenly.

     A vaguely familiar scent.

     ...One that he had smelled earlier on Judy’s hazmat suit when she had come back out of the tent.

     ...And something about Cotton looked off.

     ...Like the way her ears were sitting on her head.

     ...And the way her pupils had completely dilated as she slowly sat up on all fours.

     “...Judy--wait, Judy, _stop!_ ”

     Cotton launched herself up and onto Judy with an enraged growl. Judy screamed and the hit the ground back-first, Cotton in her hands above her. Cotton thrashed her paws at her, teeth bared and fiercely clamping shut, just inches away from Judy’s face. Her claws tore into Judy’s sleeves and the chest of her sweater, sending specks of lint flying into the air. Nick quickly whipped around towards the door.

 _“10-22!”_ he shouted towards the outside, _“10-22! We need back up!”_

     Nick whirled back around and ran towards Judy and Cotton. Judy quickly rolled Cotton off of her and gave her a shove, sending Cotton sliding away from her in the dirt. Judy quickly jumped to her feet, gaping in horror at the hunched and writhing kit before her.

     “Cotton?” she breathed in a low voice, “Cotton, it’s--it’s me, okay? It’s _Judy_. And we-we’re here to--”

     Cotton let out a monstrous roar, and she lunged at her. Judy ducked, and Cotton landed face first in the dirt behind her. Nick stopped in his tracks, inches away from her. Cotton quickly stood back up on all fours and snapped her eyes to Nick. Her lips began to curl in a snarl as Nick began to stumble back. Suddenly, she leaped and landed square in the middle of Nick’s chest, knocking him to the ground. She tore into Nick’s sling with her teeth and ripped it off. Nick grabbed her neck with one paw and managed to latch onto one of her wrists with another. Cotton pushed closer and closer to his face, her sharp front teeth getting closer and closer to his nose, her primal snarls and growls getting louder and more aggressive...

**_BANG_ **

     Her body jolted.

     She was suddenly lifted from his chest. Judy staggered away from Nick, holding onto Cotton by the ribs, her fingers resting just above the tranquilizer dart stuck in Cotton’s side.

     Nick quickly sat up and whirled around to see Jack in the center of the room, his gun still raised. Officers were standing behind him, their weapons drawn. Nick looked back to Judy to see Cotton’s thrashing weakening and slowing down, her eyes gently drooping closed.

     “Get her to the hospital,” Jack called, “That much tranquilizer in her body could slow her heart, we gotta make sure it doesn’t kill her.”

     Officer McHorn and Officer Snarlov broke off and began to jog towards Nick and Judy. Judy looked at the consciousness dying in Cotton’s eyes, and watched her as she got lifted out of her arms and taken away by McHorn. She stood frozen in the middle of the cavernous warehouse, watching as Jack slowly stepped past McHorn and Snarlov, and towards Nick on the ground. He carefully helped him to his feet.

     “You alright?”

     “Yeah, I’m--I’m fine…”

     “Did you get bit?”

     “A little scratched, but...”

     Nick turned to look at Judy. Tears had begun to well in her eyes, but her face was empty. Nick cautiously began to trudge toward her, leaving Jack behind him.

     “...Carrots? Judy? Are you...are you alright?”

     Judy didn’t answer. She just slowly looked up at Nick, the same blank expression plastered to her face. Nick took a couple steps closer.

     “Hey, look, that--you know that wasn’t her, Judy, that wasn’t really--”

     “Mindicampum Holicithias.”

     Nick stopped. He stared at Judy long and hard.

     “...What?”

     “...Mindicampum Holicithias,” Judy repeated quietly. “Night Howlers. ‘MH’.”

     Nick looked back at Jack. Jack subconsciously brought his paw up to the back of his neck with a sigh. Nick’s eyes slowly drifted to the ground.

     “MH are back,” Judy said numbly. “MH are back…”


	20. 01010100/01110111/01100101/01101110/01111001

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The past will often attack the present with the pain of your memories"
> 
> -Seiichi Kirima

_      “Breaking news. Today, the body of Dylan Fangmyer was found in an irrigation ditch in the Rainforest District. Two days ago, the young tiger interrupted every TV channel to broadcast his suicide, before his body disappeared.” _

_      “It was found covered in what has been described as ‘a fungus’. Authorities have been inspecting the infection, and they have recently revealed that it carries some type of toxin. We have yet to hear any more as of this moment.” _

_      “In other news, a young rabbit in the Savannah Central area has seemingly gone  _ savage.  _ She attacked two police officers earlier this afternoon, but thankfully, no one was hurt. She has been taken to the hospital for treatment.” _

_      “A statement was later released that some of the same toxin in the fungus found on Fangmyer’s body was also found within the girl’s bloodstream. Whether this is a coincidence or not, we are at the moment, unsure.” _

_      “Our team managed to capture a quick second with Chief Bogo, the Head of Police, after the incident this afternoon. Here’s what he had to say…” _

_      “--ogo, Chief Bogo!” _

_      “Over here, sir!” _

_      “Sir, is it true that--” _

_      “--Mr. Bogo--” _

_      “Sir, is it true that there’s a possible connection between these two events--” _

_      “Did Fangmyer’s suicide have any correlation with the disease--” _

_      “Where has this infection come from, is it new?--” _

_      “Any information on the girl’s status as if this moment--” _

_      “Today has been...a very eventful day...we are trying to assess the situation as best we can...as soon as we have concrete answers with dependable evidence behind it, we will give them to the public. If you’ll excuse me…” _

_      “Chief Bogo!” _

_      “Sir, is there any--” _

_      “Bogo! Chief B--” _

 

     The TV extinguished. Jack tossed the remote on the table with a sigh. He rubbed his eyes tiredly.

     The lamp in the corner cast an angled light across the rest of the hotel room. It wasn’t a bad room; it had a bed, a desk, a chair, a table, a small kitchenette near the door--Jack was used to it. Throughout his career, hotel rooms just like this had become his home. A temporary place to drop your anchor, be it for a month or a minute. It wasn’t like he was given  much of a choice.

     The static electricity tracing the surface of the TV screen softly crackled through the air. Jack stood up from the armchair and walked towards the closet. He began to shrug off his suit.

     Jack never really did enjoy being alone...although that was when he seemed the most comfortable. What he didn’t like was total silence--complete isolation. When one could just barely hear a high-pitched ringing in the ears. He was most relaxed when he could sit in the middle of a bustling plaza, or walk down the busy streets, or lie in the middle of a park. Surrounded by others, enveloped in the noises and motions, but alone nonetheless. It was always a nice distraction.

     Whenever he didn’t have this opportunity, he would bury himself in his work. As long as he had something to do, as long as he could focus on something in front of him, he was okay. It wasn’t perfect (when was it  _ ever _ perfect)...

     He kicked off his pants, then carefully picked them up from the floor and placed them on the hanger with the rest of his suit. He walked back over towards the desk, covered in the cheetah files. He opened one and began to skim it half-consciously. After a moment, he pulled out the desk chair and placed himself in it. The pages slowly rolled over in his fingers, the edges softly scraping against his fur. He sighed.

     “Jack.”

     He froze. He took a deep breath and stared at the wall. He could feel the muscles in his shoulders tightening.

     Here she was.

     He cleared his throat.

     “...Goodbye, Skye…”

     The words pushed through his throat like stones through a pipe. Jack kept his eyes on the wall, refusing to turn around. He waited for awhile in silence.

     “...Jesus, Jack, would you just...would you just  _ look _ at me?”

     Jack forced his eyes back down towards the page. He gingerly turned it.

     “...You’re not real, Skye...”

     “I just...I just want to know why, Jack, that’s all...and you--and you always avoid it…”

     Jack had pills for this. They made pills for everything, these days. The only problem was that they were next to the bathroom sink, all the way across the room, right past the mammal trying to talk to him that he could not turn around to face. And even if he could get to them, they took weeks to take into effect, and he hadn’t been taking them, because he had just been forgetting, and he could  _ not  _ deal with any of this right now.

     “Goodbye, Skye--”

     “You remember it, don’t you?” she asked. “At least tell me you  _ remember  _ it, Jack.”

     “Of course I do--”

     “It was in the middle of my sentence,” she said. “Right in the middle of--my god, you cut me  _ off. _ ”

     Jack began to dig his fingers into his palm. He had let the file fall onto the table, his left paw still clamped to the edge of it. He swallowed past the lump in his throat.

     “Jack, be honest with me, did--did you love me?” her voice trembled. “Did you really  _ love _ me?”

     Jack let out a sigh. He opened his mouth to speak, but the sound caught in his throat for a moment. His eyes darted down and he rubbed his nose.

     “...You’re not real.”

     “Did you love me, Jack?”

     “...Skye, you’re not--”

     “Answer me!”

_      “STOP IT!” _

     Jack whirled around to face her.

     The room was empty.

     Jack held his face in his paws.

* * *

     The room was small. Small for Judy, even. It was just a bed, with a desk and a lamp. Nothing more.

     She had never kept a running list of safe houses in Zootopia, but she had been familiar with the downtown hole-in-the-wall bakery “Lion’s Den”, and had heard before that it was wonderful. The owners were unbelievably considerate, and it seemed like this was a natural occurrence for them. The best thing about it was that the building blended in perfectly  with the rest of the stores right along the block. 

     It hid in plain sight.

     Judy laid on the bed, facing the door. Nick was sprawled on the floor beside her (he had  _ insisted  _ she take the bed, a puncture wound was  _ much  _ worse than just a small gash on the shoulder), and she could hear his slow and steady breathing. There were no windows, so once the lamp was turned off, the room was thrown into complete and utter black. Judy could barely hear the sounds of the streets through the wall behind them.

     She had absolutely no desire to sleep.

     Her body was absolutely craving some rest--she could feel the fatigue settling in her veins like poison--but her mind refused to let her sleep. There was too much that had happened today...so much…

     No matter how much she stared through the darkness towards the door, she could still see it open, and see the sleek silhouette slink in through the cracks, and she could see the glint of the knife cut through the air and go plunging into her stomach…

     “Carrots? You doin’ alright?”

     Judy raised her head from the pillow.

     “...What?”

     “I can hear you breathing.” Nick said from the darkness. “You okay?”

     “Uh--yeah, I’m--I’m just...today was,” Judy stammered, “...Today was just... _ a lot. _ ”

     Nick chuckled. “You’re telling me.”

     She heard him adjust his position. 

     Then silence.

     But Judy’s brain was still screaming.

     “...uh...N--Nick?”

     She heard him roll over.

     “What’s up?”

     “Can you...uh...I’m sorry, this is…um...”

     “What?” he said, gently. “What is it?”

     Judy pushed her heart back down from her esophagus.

     “C-can you...uh, sleep with me? Tonight?”

     Nick snickered. “Well,” he said, “Way to be straightforward about it, Carrots--”

_      “Nick…” _

     There was a silence. She knew that he could see her. She could feel his eyes locked on her face. He knew.

     Suddenly, there was a rustle from the floor, and the bed suddenly dipped and wobbled. 

     “C’mon, scoot over, give some room for me…”

     Judy felt Nick brush up against her, and she quickly rolled over and scooted towards the wall. His arm wrapped around her waist, and he drew her in. She let out a sigh, and she felt her eyes welling.

     “Hey, it’s okay, alright. Your mammalian shield is here.”

     Judy chuckled. She wiped her eyes and rolled over. Her face burrowed into Nick’s chest, and Nick began to slowly stroke her head.

     “Alright,” Nick murmured, “If somebody comes in through that door, I’ll just hold you up and you’ll bicycle kick. Like a little rabbit-sized machine gun. Alright?”

     Judy laughed, wrapping her arms around Nick’s torso. Nick placed his chin on top of her head, right between her ears.

     “It’s gonna be okay,” he said. “We’ll get through this.”

     Judy took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said, “...okay…”

* * *

_ pandaaaamn: _

_ > you haven’t checked in _

_ > you’re late _

_ > what’s going on, honey _

_ > don’t ignore me, i see you’re online _

 

_ madgethebadge:  _

_ >stop contacting me _

 

_ pandaaaamn: _

_ > dude _

_ > Updates _

 

_ madgethebadge: _

_ > i said stop contacting me _

_ > i’m not fucking around _

 

_ pandaaaamn: _

_ > neither are we _

_ > you are gonna give us updates, or we release all of it _

_ > honey _

_ > you will give us stuff by saturday _

_ > or all of it goes to the police _

_ > got it? _

  
_ :>>[user  _ _ madgethebadge _ _ is offline] _


	21. 01010100/01110111/01101110/01110100/01111001/01101111/01101110/

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are too young to realize that certain things are impossible...
> 
> So we will do them anyway..."
> 
> -William Wilberforce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEAVY C/W WARNING
> 
> This chapter has very explicit descriptions of self-harm in the beginning. Please proceed at your own risk.
> 
> (If you would like to skip over that part but still read the chapter without missing anything, just jump to the first break/line)

     Why the  _ fuck _ did she have to sleep in the overnight cell?

     Nothing had changed. It was as if she hadn’t even left St. Bearitali’s at all. She was still kept in the same place almost 24/7, there were fuckin’ policemen everywhere, and the food was still shit. It was all the same bullshit and it was really getting on her fucking nerves.

     Part of her wanted to just leave.  _ Especially _ after last night. 

     She never wanted to be in this situation. This was the last thing she wanted to do, and she had no fucking idea how to get out of it. She was trapped.

     In a jail cell that smelt like pigs.

     The good thing was that she was alone. Yeah, there was a guard in the other room, but he rarely came in (what was his name? Ronowhitz? Rhinowhitz?), so she had the whole area to herself. She could really do whatever she wanted.

     Honey sat up in her cot and scratched her neck. She reached down to her phone sitting on the floor. She checked the time.

     It was 8:32 a.m.

     Honey sat back up with a sigh. Her paws slowly came up and rubbed her head. The sound of the clock on the back wall softly echoed around the ceiling and funneled into Honey’s ears.

     It was all the fuckin’ same.

     She stared at the backpack slung around the back of her wheelchair, which was sitting at the foot of the bed. 

     Her mind buzzed with static.

     After a moment, Honey scooted towards the backpack. She hooked the zipper with her claws and carved the bag open. She rummaged around for a moment.

     Her paw closed around a piece of polished wood.

     She slowly pulled it out and opened her fingers. She cradled it in her hands. Her paw tips slowly glided over the wood, watching the coating catch the florescent light above her. She stuck her claw into one of the metal grooves. She struggled with it; her claw kept popping  out of it whenever she gave it an awkward and uncoordinated yank. However, after a few good tugs, the metal blade inched out. She slowly pulled it out the rest of the way.

     She stared into her distorted reflection.

     Three years. Three years she had had no access to this. No coping mechanism, no sense of routine. The scars had hardened then faded, the fur having regrown in its place. There was almost no evidence from before.

     Everybody would be so proud of her, finally. Three years clean, she could say, finally. Isn’t that great?

     But it was cheating. All of it was just cheating. It didn’t count, it was bullshit.

     The blade slowly slid into her forearm.

     Honey didn’t even flinch.

     There was very little blood. She was just barely diving into the surface of the skin. The cut raised a small bit. It felt so natural. Feeling the cold metal. Muscle memory took over, and she began to draw another line across her forearm with the blade.

     “Rise and shine, Bush-Top--”

     The pocket knife slipped and plunged a little, awkwardly carving across the side of her forearm. 

     “Fuck.  _ Shit.  _ God--”

     Honey dropped the knife on the cot. She brought her hand to her arm.

     Well, there was definitely some blood now.

     Honey glanced over her shoulder to see Nick standing in the doorway, the faint traces of a smug smile leaving his face. He had a brand new sling wrapped around his shoulder. Honey quickly turned back to her arm.

     “--Don’t you fucking know how to knock? Jesus Christ, where you raised in a motherfuckin’--”

     Honey trailed off and began to wipe the droplets forming on the underside of her arm. She heard Nick sigh, and she felt him step further into the room. She quickly reached into her bag and pulled out her bandana. Her trembling fingers fumbled with it and dropped it. She cussed and reached on the floor to grab it. As she quickly snatched it up, she heard Nick rustle with something. She quickly dabbed the bandana over the gash, letting it absorb some of the blood. 

     The cell door creaked open. 

     Honey looked up to see Nick holding a small white case with a red cross painted on the front. He kneeled down in front of her and popped it open. He rummaged around in it or a moment, his ears down. In the deafening silence, he pulled out a roll of gauze. He motioned with it to Honey.

     Honey mechanically held out her arm. Nick began to carefully wrap the gauze around it, the soft white suddenly igniting with a hard red dash. He blanketed her arm without a word, his eyes locked on his paws carefully maneuvering the roll between his fingers. He reached into the case again and pulled out a pair of scissors. He snipped the strand at the base of the roll and pressed it down with a finger, his slinged arm awkwardly reaching over. Honey bit her lip and inhaled sharply through her nose. Nick tossed the gauze into the case and began to dig for something else.

     “...You know, you don’t really have t--”

     “--Shh.”

     Nick picked up a roll of tape. He grabbed the end with his teeth and unrolled it a little bit. He tore off a piece and placed the roll on the ground next to his knee. He carefully placed the patch of tape on the end of the strand right next to his finger, drawing across the inside of her arm. He reached back down to grab the roll and tore off another piece. He lifted his finger and smoothed the tape in its place.

     Nick tossed the tape back into the case and buckled it closed. He sat on his feet with a sigh. Honey’s arm remained outstretched, frozen in the air.

     “...Alright. What’s up?”

     Honey glanced at him. He was looking at the ground.

     “...It’s...it’s nothing,” she said.

     “No no no, seriously,” Nick sighed, “What is it?”

     “...It’s  _ nothing _ , Jesus...”

     “C’mon Honey,” Nick said. “We both know how this goes, alright, you help me, I help you, just like we used to. I know that there’s something--”

     “I said it’s  _ nothing _ .”

     Nick went silent. He stared at her gently. After a moment, he rubbed his neck.

     “Alright,” he said, “Well, I’ve got some coffee and stuff from Lion’s Den. Also, we got Detective Bunny Bumpkin waiting outside, so...either we let all that stuff get cold--including  _ her _ \--or you can tell me what’s going on.”

     Honey’s brow furrowed.

     “Fuck you,” she said quietly. “You can’t just do that. What the fuck is your...think you can just guilt trip me like that, what the hell is your…”

     Honey trailed off, staring at the wall. Nick’s ears fell. He looked down at his feet.

     “No no, you’re right,” he said. “I’m sorry. That’s not fair to you.”

     Nick quietly stood up and walked towards Honey’s wheelchair. He began to steer it towards the side of the bed. Honey swallowed.

     “It’s...it’s just…”

     Nick froze. He looked up at her.

     “...Yeah?”

     Honey sighed.

     “I don’t know,” she said. “It’s just...I don’t know, I don’t like it here, it’s reminding me of jail, and I--I mean, it  _ is _ jail, and I just feel...trapped, you know, I don’t know…”

     Nick lightly chuckled.

     “Well,” he said, “I mean, you’re still an inmate, Honey. At the end of all this you’ll have to go back to St. B’s.”

     “I know, I know,” said, Honey. “I just...it’s getting on my nerves, I don’t…”

     Honey stared at her hands. She swallowed.

     “...I really don’t like jail…” she said quietly.

     Nick let go of the chair and walked around to the cot. He sat down next to Honey and looked at her for a moment. He took a slow breath.

     “What do you need?”

     Honey glanced up at him.

     “...W-What?”

     “What do you need?” Nick repeated. “What can we do to fix this?”

     Honey was silent for a while. She half-consciously scratched her head. “

     "...Um...I dunno,” she said, “I just...I wanna get out of here. It’s drivin’ me nuts...I mean, you know. Not like you care or anything, I’m still, like--”

     Nick snickered. Honey looked up to see his trademark smirk return.

     “Well, of course I care, dumbass,” he said, “I’m your friend, why--”

     “Don’t say that,” Honey suddenly blurted.

     Nick’s smile faltered. Honey felt her heart fall into her stomach. She sat up a little bit.

     “Sorry, I--that’s not what I meant--”

     “I know, I know,” Nick muttered. “It’s alright…”

     He began to stand up again. Honey quickly straightened up.

     “I just--” she stammered, then paused. “I--I’m  _ scared _ …”

     Nick turned back to her, his ears slowly raising. 

     “That’s okay,” he said. “This is some kinda scary stuff we’re dealing with.”

     Honey gave a half-hearted chuckle and rubbed her eyes. Nick positioned the wheelchair next to the bed.

     “You’re not gonna tap out on us, are you?’ he asked. “I mean, you’re allowed to, but…”

     Honey stared at her hands, processing.

* * *

_      Better Lives Organization _

_      We are an organization focused on researching and funding support for those with different forms of lung, skin, and pancreatic cancer. Our organization gathers lead scientists from around the world to help in a collective effort. Lead by Dr. Zander Orshak, Ph.D., we hope to see a future where no one is affected any longer by these diseases. _

_        About Us _

__ _ Members _

__ _ Events _

__ _ Donate _

__ _ Contact Us _

     “Bullshit,” Honey said, shaking her head, “It’s all bullshit, I swear.”

     “Hey now, Bush-Top,” Nick chuckled nervously, “Let’s calm it with the racial slurs, alright?”

     Judy choked on her coffee and lightly placed it down on the table. The conference room was surprisingly more sunlit than usual, the warm yellow rays filtering through the tinted panes. Honey’s computer was positioned on the table, monitor facing the three of them. The screen flickered on the BLO’s supposed webpage. 

     “I...I  _ do not _ understand,” Honey began, “I  _ do not _ understand why they’d have this, like...there are so many ways to trace this.”

     “Have they been posing as an organization like this in the past?” Judy asked.

     “...Well, fuck if  _ I _ know,” Honey said. “Again, they never really told me anything--”

     “Wait,  _ trace _ it?” Nick repeated, “You can do that?”

     “Well, I mean... _ yeah _ ,” Honey said. “Y’know, like, IP addresses or some shit…”

     Judy and Nick gave her a look. Honey sighed.

     “There’s so many different ways, and they all get mixed up in my head, but I always find a way somehow,” she said. “Be it through IP, emails, whatever.”

     The door opened.

     Jack Savage stood in the doorway. He had dark bags sitting under his bloodshot eyes. His skin seemed to sit tight on his face, and his body was on the edge of caving in on itself. He was wearing a dark grey suit with a pale blue tie. His badge hung out of his pocket. He carefully closed the door behind him and sauntered towards the table.

     “Sorry I’m late,” he muttered. “That car I called took forever to show up.”

     “...You alright, Savage?” Nick said. “You don’t look too hot, buddy…”

     Jack chuckled as he gently sat at the table. “Yeah, I just got a little caught up, um...talking with some old friends last night, that’s all...”

     “How late were you up?” Judy asked.

     Jack raised his paw at her and quickly shook his head. He cleared his throat.

     “So,” he said, “I want to try and track down that website, see where it leads to. Follow it’s IP address, find out where it’s located, who’s running it, all that. Then, I want to figure out why the media has suddenly been prompted to twist the stories of these incidents--”

     “Wait, what?” Judy asked. “The media’s picked up on this?”

     “I thought they were avoiding it,” Nick said, “Wasn’t that the problem?”

     Jack sighed. “Did neither of you see the news last night?”

     “...Uh...no,” Judy said, “We didn’t.”

     “We, uh...we didn’t really have a TV to watch it on.”

     Jack rolled his eyes and scooted over towards Honey’s computer. He reached for the keyboard, but he suddenly stopped himself. He glanced at Honey.

     “Sorry, do you mind?”

     “...What? Oh! No, go--go right ahead, dude…”

     Jack opened a new tab and typed in the address for Zootube. It immediately popped up, and the front page was practically littered in news stories. The others’ eyes slowly opened.

     “...Sweet cheese and crackers,”

     “They’re connecting Dylan’s suicide with the Night Howler toxin,” Jack said, scrolling down the page. “They’re saying he killed himself because he figured out that he was infected. The fungus is supposedly the external manifestation of it. I wouldn’t doubt this, but the media’s sudden interest in it concerns me.”

     “For good reason, too,” Honey said. “BLO’s got every outlet on a leash. They tell them what to say and when to say it, this whole Night Howler bullshit obviously has absolutely nothing to do with the kid killing himself.”

     “Again, Honey, word choice--”

     “I’m just--I’m still confused about the website,” Judy said. “It seems like such a...stupid, such a  _ reckless _ move, you know?”

     “Hold on, lemme track this lil bugger down real quick,” Honey said, “Let’s see where it takes us.”

     Honey took the web address and copied it into the geotracker. They waited as the program slowly loaded.

     “There’s one thing from yesterday,” Nick said suddenly, “That’s still been sitting at the back of my mind.”

     Judy and Jack looked at him.

     “What?”

     “Well,” Nick said, “When we had the whole ordeal at Gideon’s place, with the...with the rabbit--” 

     “Yeah?” Judy asked.

     “I...I still don’t understand why they killed her. Like, wasn’t she on their side?”

     “She failed the mission,” Jack said.

     Judy and Jack looked at him, confused.

     “What?”

     “She let you two get away,” Jack explained. “Most likely her objective was to collect all four of you--you and the two mammals you talked to that morning--maybe even to kill you both. But she didn’t. So, they dealt with her and moved on.”

     “So just because she botched the job they  _ killed _ her?” Honey said, looking up from her computer. “Why the hell would they do that?”

     “Just in case she was caught,” Jack said. “She had witnesses and couldn’t afford to be kept in relations with the BLO any longer, because now they could be traced. It was also probably to make a statement to their other members.”

     Honey’s computer made a noise. They all looked at it. There was a large white X in place of the globe in the geotracker. There was a small message displayed below it. Honey muttered it to herself then laughed defeatedly.

     “Well,  _ shit, _ ” she said, slumping in her chair.

     “What?” Nick asked.

     “Invalid IP address,” Honey read from the screen. “It’s a fake, somebody probably made it up. It’s not actually attached to any device, so there’s no way to trace it. Fuckin’ typical, man.”

     “There’s absolutely no way?” Judy asked. “Not--not even email, or-or something--”

     “Nah, nah nah, that’s not gonna work,” Honey said, waving a paw. “Not with this website. I can’t get that kind of info from here.”

     There was a silence. All of them stared at the screen for a moment pensively. Suddenly, Jack tapped Honey’s shoulder.

     “Go back to the webpage again, could you dear?”

     Honey quickly reopened the browser. Nick glanced at her, and he smirked at the red slowly beginning to show through the fur on her cheeks. The website popped back up, and Honey clicked on  _ Events _ .

     The first thing to pop up was the banquet at the Oasis, a link to order an invitation underneath. They gathered closer to the computer and read the details.

     “Go ahead and follow it,” Judy said, “Let’s see where it takes us.”

     Honey clicked the link, and a page popped up to fill out credit card information. Judy and Nick glanced at Jack.

     “Well,” Nick said, “I don’t know what else I was expecting…”

     “How do we know that this is legitimate,” Judy said. “Are they really gonna send an invitation to someone who does this?”

     “This may not even be a real event,” Jack said. “I just realized. This could be a trap, they could be trying to lure us in with this. Think about it, we’re the only ones to have heard about this, and only within the past day.”

     Judy and Nick looked at each other, thinking.

     “We have to find out if somehow…” Jack began, drumming his fingers on the table, “We have to find out if anybody else is attending.”

     “One sec,” Honey said, “Stand back.”

     Honey cracked her fingers then latched down onto the keyboard, typing up a frenzy. Judy, Jack and Nick took a step back as she went to town, opening up javascript boxes and other miscellaneous programs to scan through the website. Judy leaned over to Nick’s ear.

     “What’s she doing?” she whispered.

     “Probably scanning the program for other purchases,” Jack said quietly. “She’s going back through past transactions, most likely.”

     The computer made a noise, and a box of moving script popped up. Honey read a little bit of it, then scoffed.

     “Okay,” she said, “Okay, alright, yeah, we’re fine…”

     Honey sat back and rubbed her paws together as a wall of text scrolled through the java box. The three stepped closer to her.

     “You sure?” Nick asked, “How do you know?”

     “There’s proof of plenty transactions on here,” Honey said, “Like, I only had to look at like the first three, this is fine. Also, I can go back a little bit further, and...yeah, look, see?”

     Honey pointed at a string of text in the box.

     “It sends a notification to the admin of the website about who ordered it for when,” she explained, “And it provides the mailing info. So yeah, we’re fine. We’re cool.”

     Judy and Nick shared a relieved a look. They looked back to Jack. His eyes were lost in the computer, and his ears were lightly resting on his back. He raised a paw to his face and began to subconsciously rub his chin.

     “They’re gonna know it’s us.”

     Judy raised an eyebrow. “What?” she said.

     “They’ll know it’s us,” he said. “We can’t just use one of our credit cards, they’ll know that it’s us who made the purchase. Even if we use someone else’s from the precinct, they can still assume that it’s us.”

     “Huh,” Nick said, “You’re right. How do we get past that?”

     “Maybe you can just like, get some random mammal to pay for it,” Honey said, “Then you can repay them later?”

     “But then the invite will be addressed to them,” Jack said. “And they’ll expect them to be there. We can’t just send off some random mammal on an investigation for us.”

     “But it says right here what names to put the invitation under,” Honey said, pointing at the screen.

     “And what? Just put  _ our _ names there?” Nick said, “Yeah, that wouldn’t raise any red flags at all...”

     The four of them sat in silence, contemplating. Nick gently adjusted his sling’s strap on his shoulder. Judy picked up her coffee and began to pace the room. Nick glanced back at Jack to see his eyes still glued to the computer. His paw rested over his mouth in thought.

     “Okay, well--” Honey said, adjusting herself in her chair, “I tried...so, what do we do?”

     Judy took a sip from her coffee. She sighed.

     “There’s no way around this,” Judy said. “Unless we sneak in somehow and get Orshak without anybody knowing…”

     Judy trailed off. A hyperfocused silence fell over the room. Everyone collectively froze. The other three slowly looked up at her. Judy stared off into space, processing what she had just said. She slowly looked back over at them, wide-eyed.

     “...Oh my god--”

     “That’s it,” Jack said, raising a finger, “That’s it. We’ll sneak in, get Orshak, and take him out for interrogation. We can get floorplans of the hotel, figure out ways to get in and out undetected--”

     “Wait, waiwaiwaiwait--” Honey said, raising her paws in incredulous protest, “You’re joking, right? You’re saying we’re just gonna  _ Mission Impawsibble  _ this shit--”

     “How else are we going to do this?” Jack said. “We won’t get in without an invitation, we can’t get an invitation without making a fake bank account that can’t be traced to any of us--which is easier said than done, mind you--so the only way we can do this is through a stealth operation.”

     “An organized kidnapping,” Nick said in disbelief.

     Jack furrowed his brow and took a deep breath. “...Not quite,” he said.

     “I mean, that’s basically what it is--”

     “Okay,” Judy said, walking back over to the table, “Okay okay okay. So--we’ll figure out a way to break in, find Orshak, and whisk him away without anyone noticing?”

     Jack nodded meaningfully. “Yes,” he said.

     “Well,” Nick snickered, “Sounds simple enough…”

     Nick caught eyes with Judy. They knew that they were both thinking the same thing. 

     This wasn’t just another investigation anymore. This had evolved into something so much bigger, so much heavier than any other case they had taken before. They were no longer just waltzing into crime scenes and connecting the dots, or interrogating suspects in the comfort of the precinct’s interrogation rooms. There was no more paperwork or cubicle brainstorm sessions at this point.

     This wasn’t just another investigation anymore.

     This was a  _ mission. _


	22. 01110100/01110111/01101110/01110100/01111001/01110100/01110111/01101111

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Listen closely..."
> 
> "...If you don't pay attention, you might miss it."

_moonharvest85:_

_ >You are to break off contact with Madge H. Badger. _

_: >>[user _ _pandaaaamn_ _is online]_

 

_pandaaaamn:_

_ > ... _

_ > what _

_ > why _

 

_moonharvest85:_

_ > You are to break off contact with Madge H. Badger. _

 

_pandaaaamn:_

_ > what do you mean _

_ > i was literally told to start tracking her like two days ago what’s going on _

 

_moonharvest85:_

_ > Those were not direct orders. _

_ > You are to break off contact with Madge H. Badger. _

_ > Failure to do so will result in the release of all the cub pornography databases collected from your servers. _

 

_pandaaaamn:_

_ > holy shit _

_ > dude i already said i just provide the storage i’m not the one using any of it _

 

_moonharvest85:_

_ > I don’t think you understand. _

_ > The evidence collected from you still results in a federal offense of egregious proportions. _

_ > You will be registered on T.U.S.K.’s national sex offender list and will be incarcerated for the _

_remaining term of your natural life._

 

_pandaaaamn:_

_ > oh my god okay _

_ > i’ll stop _

_ > like seriously i promise _

 

 _: >>[user _ _moonharvest85_ _is offline]_

* * *

     “Can I see that video again from yesterday?”

     Honey stopped typing and looked up from across the table, raising an eyebrow at Judy. Jack, over Honey’s shoulder, and Nick, in the seat next to her, glanced up at her as well.

     “Huh?”

     Judy swallowed.

     “The video from the email...from, uh, from yesterday…”

     Judy could feel Nick’s worried expression scanning her over. Honey looked back down at her computer for a second, the words stuck in her mouth.

     “...I mean...sure,” Honey said with a shrug. “I mean, we’re in the middle of a deep web architecture archive right now, so I dunno if I--or here, wait, I’ll just send it to you…”

     The keyboard roared to life underneath Honey’s fingers. Judy felt Nick’s paw carefully rest on hers underneath the table. Judy sighed.

      “You know,” said Nick, “You shouldn’t get yourself all wrapped up in--”

     “I-I’m not,” Judy said. “I just...wanna see if there are any more clues, that’s all…”

     “...aaaand _boom_ ,” Honey said. “Sent. You should be able to download it and everything.”

     Judy pulled out her phone and opened up her email. She found a new email from _madgethebadge@zmail.com._ She opened it to find a video attachment, and upon tapping it, it opened up and began to play.

     “Carrots,” Nick said gently, his brow furrowing, “What else do you think could be in this thing?”

     “You say that as if you haven’t seen the ones from before,” Judy said. “Let’s just...watch it.”

     The screen cut away from the stuttering moth logo, revealing Cotton sitting in her chair with the paper. Judy paused it.

     “Okay,” she said, “What do you see?”

     Nick inched closer and looked over her shoulder. He examined the screen in silence.

     “Well,” he said, “I...don’t see anything on the back of the paper...”

     “I can’t tell where they are in this,” Judy said. “Are they even in the air hanger?”

     “Well, where else would they be?” Nick asked.

     “I don’t know,” Judy said, “They could be in some basement or something somewhere, we don’t know.”

     “Okay, but let’s think about that,” said Nick. “If they didn’t film it in the hanger, how did they transport Cotton to the hanger from wherever they were in that amount of time? Also, how come the chair was in there?”

     “That may not have been _the_ chair,” Judy said, “That could’ve been a different one. Also, they could have transported her after she passed out.”

     “Passed out from what?”

     “The--the gas, the stuff they put over her mouth,” Judy said, scrubbing forwards through the video with a finger.

      Judy lifted her finger let the video play. The rhino walked on screen with the large tank and facemask in his hoof, the tiger keeping Cotton still in her chair. As she screamed, the rhino grabbed the back of her head and forced the mask over her mouth, before the video quickly glitched and cut out.

      Judy’s stomach fell into her feet. Nick sat up further in his seat.

      “How do we know that was a sleep-inducing gas?” Nick said. “We don’t know what happened to her after that, it cuts out before anything happens. For all we know, there could’ve been nothing in that tank, and they could just be messing with us.”

      A thought hit Judy like a brick to the head.

     “What if it was the Night Howler toxin?”

     Nick looked up at her, a processing look on his face. He looked over at Jack, who had been secretly listening, now staring at Judy carefully.

     Judy rewinded the video a little bit, then pressed play. She paused it, trying to catch the gas tank being held by the rhino at the bottom of the screen. However, it was being swung, so the labels on it were blurring with motion. Judy started and stopped it again, trying to get a clear image, but she kept getting blurry figures of black and pale green. She sighed in frustration.

     “We may need Honey to do that,” Nick said, placing a sympathetic paw on Judy’s leg.

     “Huh? Wazzat?”

     “Nothing, don’t--don’t worry about it,” Nick said to Honey, “We can deal with it later.”

     Judy scrubbed backwards in the video, close to the beginning. She let it play, and she watched Cotton carefully.

     She looked so... _scared_. She was withdrawn into herself, her paws trembling softly with the paper in grasp, her ears plastered down behind her head...her wrists, blanketed in gauze, looked like they were about to snap right off. She almost looked like a stuffed animal propped up in a chair.

     Her eyes kept darting off towards the right of the screen, looking at something, some _one_...

     With each trembling word she said, Judy’s heart sunk lower into her stomach. She wanted to reach through the screen and grab Cotton out of her chair and squeeze onto her tight. She wanted to gently brush her head and whisper to her quietly and gently; she wanted to _protect_ her. Part of her wanted nothing more than to jump inside the phone and rip apart every single mammal that was keeping her in that room. They were hurting her, scaring her...

     “Carrots…”

     Judy looked up at Nick, and she pushed away the tears blurring her eyes with the heel of her paw. She sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve. Nick looked at her sadly.

     “You can’t just toy with yourself like this...”

     Judy averted her eyes. She sniffed again. Nick raised a paw and gently wiped a tear that was slowly making its way down her cheek. Judy’s fur bristled.

     “She’s okay now,” Nick said, “She’s in the hospital, they’re figuring out what’s going on with her. It’s gonna be okay.”

     Something caught Judy’s ears. She gave and inquisitive glance back down at the video, and the rhino reappeared with the gas tank. She tapped the screen and rewinded it a little. Nick sighed.

     “C’mon Judy, _seriously--_ ”

     “No no no, hold on,” Judy muttered with another sniffle, “There’s--I think I…”

     Judy let the video play again, and she turned up the volume. She listened carefully as Cotton finished reciting the message.

     There was a brief moment of silence.

     Then, very quietly, a voice whispered something off-camera.

     “ _That,_ ” Judy said, rewinding again, “That right there, what is that?”

     “What, that--that brushing noise?”

     “No, somebody’s _saying_ something, I just can’t quite--”

      Judy held the phone’s speaker up to her ear as the clip played again. She sighed frustratedly.

     “Ugh, I can’t make out what they’re saying, but I--that’s a voice. And I--I don’t know, it’s so…”

     “...So _what_?”

     “Hold on,” said Judy, bringing the phone back down, “I think there’s--I think they say something at the beginning…”

     Judy quickly rewinded the video, then raised the phone back to her ear. Suddenly, a distinct voice whispered from somewhere of camera.

_“Go ahead.”_

     “There,” Judy said, pointing to the phone, “Hear that?”

     “Yeah,” Nick said, “They said ‘go ahead’.”

     “Yeah, but that’s not th--something about that voice is just--okay. I think I--no, I’m almost certain I know that voice.”

     Nick looked at her for a moment.

     “What do you mean?”

     “I mean that I know that _voice_ ,” said Judy, shifting her weight in her seat. “I don’t know where it’s from, but there’s something that’s--that’s vaguely familiar about it, there’s something--”

     Judy raised the phone back up to her ear and replayed the clip. She nodded meaningfully.

     “Yeah, I _know_ that voice, Nick,” she insisted. “I--God, I don’t know who’s it is, but I know it.”

     “...Okay, well, uh...think,” Nick said, “Is it someone you know personally?”

     “I-I don’t know,” Judy said, rubbing her temple, “It’s just...ugh, something buried in the back of my head, you know? I’m trying to put a face to it…”

     “Is it a voice you’ve heard on TV or something?” Nick asked. “It may just be somebody who _sounds_ like someone you know.”

     “Yeah, I know, but--sweet cheese and crackers, this is annoying me now--”

     “Here, lemme hear it…”

     Judy handed the phone to Nick. He held the phone to his ear and played the clip. His face remained still as he listened. He quickly played it again. His eyes darted absentmindedly around the room.

     “Okay, I kinda--yeah, I see what you mean, there’s something--”

     “Yeah, see!” Judy said, “Who _is_ that?”

     “I uh…” Nick struggled, lowering the phone, “Jeez, Judy, I don’t know…”

     “Hold on, just--let me see it again.”

     Nick handed her the phone. Judy pressed play again, her ear glued to the speaker.

_“Go ahead.”_

     Suddenly, from the depths of Judy’s memory, an image was triggered. An image that caused her fur to stand on edge. An image that caused her throat to swell up, her body to freeze over, her mind to descend into a cacophony of sounds and pictures...

     White wool.

     Green eyes.

     Wire rim glasses.

     “...Uh...Carrots? You--you okay...?”

     No.

     There was _no_ way.

     There was absolutely _no way_ that it could have been her on the recording. She had been in jail for _ten months._ It’s impossible that she could have escaped without anyone knowing. Surely, security would have noticed by now, and the ZPD would have had a case on their hands within minutes. They would _know_.

     Dawn Bellwether could not in any way be behind this.

     “...Judy? What--what is it? What’s wrong?”

     Judy looked up at Nick with wide, blind eyes, her mouth hanging loosely open. She tried to form words, but her tongue had turned to rubber. She gawked back down at her phone in her paw, brushing her ears back over her head. Odd noises came from her mouth--some sounding almost like words--and as she slumped back into her chair, Nick carefully grabbed her shoulder.

     “Christ,” Honey said nervously, peering over her computer, “Is she having a fuckin’ _stroke_?”

     “Judy, take a deep breath,” Nick said, giving her shoulder a cautious rub, “What’s the matter?”

     Judy opened her mouth, but for a moment, no words came out. She looked up at Nick.

     “I...it--you’re gonna--no, _no,_ th-there’s no way--”

     “What? What do you--what are you talking about?”

     Judy stared at Nick with a pained frown, slowly shaking her head.

     “You’re not gonna believe me.”

     Nick took a deep breath and looked deep into Judy's eyes.

     “Try me.”

     Judy looked back down at her phone for a moment. She tried to swallow, but nothing would filter past her throat. Her trembling paws rubbed her eyes.

     “...Bellwether…”

     There was a long silence.

     “...What?”

     “Bellwether,” Judy repeated, “It’s...Bellwether.”

     Judy looked up at Nick. His face was frozen. She realized that Jack and Honey were looking at her as well, completely silent. Judy finally swallowed and looked back at Nick. He let in a slow gust of air.

     “Judy,” Nick said carefully, “Bellwether is in jail right now.”

     “I _know_ she is!” Judy said, pressing her paws against the top of her head, “But it--that’s _her!_ Nick, I _know_ how ridiculous it sounds, and I wish I was lying, I really do, but--"

     “Judy, it might be that whoever that is just happens to sound a little like her--”

     “I know it is, but _that’s her!”_

     “Detective Hopps,” Jack said from across the table, “Are you absolutely _certain_ that we’re all referring to the same Bellwether?”

     “Yes!” Judy said, placing a fist on the table. “Former Assistant Mayor, ringleader of the Night Howler incident over a year ago, I don’t--sweet cheese and crackers, I can’t, it-it can’t--”

     “Hey hey hey, hold on,” Nick said, inching closer. “We’re not trying to invalidate anything you’re saying, here, okay? We’re just trying to make sure you’re absolutely sure that _that’s her._ ”

_“--ere in Zootopia. Now, before I continue, I’d like to briefly welcome someone up to the podium here with me…”_

     All eyes locked onto Honey’s computer. She had flipped it around so the screen was facing them. It was a video of Bellwether standing at a podium--footage of a press conference from almost two years before, when Bellwether had been in office for a little over a month. Honey raised her eyebrows at them all.

     “I figured this’d just be the best way to settle it,” she said.

     Judy and Nick glanced at each other, then focused back on the video.

 _“...ne of the lead scientists currently working on the antidote for the, uh..._ epidemic _that the predators in our community have been facing within the recent months, and I’m very honored to have him here with us today. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, Dr. Zander Orshak.”_

     Nick and Judy’s jaws hit the floor. Honey peeked over the top, surprised.

     “Oh!" she chuckled nervously, " _Shit_ , dude!”

     As Bellwether slid to the side of her podium, a tall zebra sauntered onto the stage, starched white coat draped over his shoulders. He walked up to Bellwether with a smile, and they shared a brief handshake. Bellwether patted him lightly on the back and whispered to him.

_“...Go ahead, doctor…”_

     “Stop!”

     Honey quickly paused the video. The whole room locked eyes for a moment. Judy quickly whipped out her phone and rewinded the video to the beginning. She raised it up and hit play.

_“Go ahead.”_

      Honey quickly skipped backwards and hit play on her computer.

_“Go ahead, doct--”_

Honey stopped it.

     Judy looked over at Nick.

     He stared back in disbelief.

     “Get St. Bearitali’s on the line,” Jack said sternly. “We need confirmation on Dawn Bellwether’s whereabouts immediately.”

      Nick quickly detached his radio from his belt. He raised the mic to his mouth.

     “All ears, all ears,” he recited into the receiver, holding the button on the side, “All units Northern Districts, we need immediate dispatch to St. Bearitali’s, over?”

     Judy watched Nick closely. It was odd to see him suddenly switch into serious-police-mammal mode. It was a rarity, and because it was always such a tonal shift compared to his usual demeanor, it always caught her a little off-guard. ‘Police Nick’ only came out in the direst of circumstances--and to be fair, this was definitely one.

     Suddenly, the speaker crackled to life.

_“...uh, 10-43, Wilde, who’s driving, over?”_

     Police code and slang. _‘Already in the area, what’s the situation.’_

     “Rough 10-72, 8-09, over?”

_‘Possible prison break, please investigate.’_

_“...Roger that. Any ID, over?”_

     “Dawn Bellwether.”

     There was a pause. The four nervously looked between each other. Nick bit his lip and unconsciously rubbed the button on the receiver with his paw pad. Judy was hugging herself around the chest, her eyes glued to the radio in Nick's paw. Nick pressed the button and raised the mic once more.

     “Grizzoli, do you copy?”

 _“...Yeah...I copy, Wilde,”_ Grizzoli enunciated carefully over the line, _“I’m just, uh...a bit confused, c-can you state your reasoning, over?”_

     “Can I state my--what?” Nick said, glaring at Judy, “What the hell does he mean by that?”

     Nick raised the receiver once more, but a new voice sparked from the speaker.

 _“All Clear, Grizzoli,”_ Bogo droned, _“Do not pursue. I repeat, All Clear”_

     “What?” Judy snapped, “This isn’t a false alarm--”

      _“Wilde...Hopps...Office,”_ Bogo's voice crackled. _“You may let the others tag along as well, if necessary...”_


	23. 01010100/01110111/01101110/01110100/01111001/01110100/01110010/01100101/01100101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "When she talks to you, listen to what she says in her eyes."
> 
> -Victor Hugo

     Judy and Nick stared emptily at the report sitting on Bogo’s desk. Bogo sat back in his chair with his arms crossed in front of his chest, his eyes drearily watching the two detectives in front of him. Above them, the clock ticked, the only noise in the room for a long time. Suddenly, there was a sigh.

     “Why didn’t you tell us about this?” Jack chimed from the wall he was leaning against, crossing his arms.

     “Well,” Bogo said, “Last time I checked, you were all busy with another case.”

     “But this was important information,” Judy said, “why—”

     “As of our knowledge, until about...two minutes ago,” Bogo interrupted, “It _wasn’t_.”

     Judy sighed and sunk into her chair a little. Nick absentmindedly pinched the corner of the report and flipped it open towards him.

     “…At approximately 1:00 p.m.,” he droned, “Dawn Bellwether managed to open a ventilation shaft above her cot within her solitary confinement cell. She proceeded to enter it and crawl through, eventually ending up at an external vent on the South Side of the St. Bearitali’s property. The vent was located next to an enlisted lot of vans, one of which she managed to ride out on…”

     “You really think a little sheep can do all _that—”_

     “Agent Savage,” Bogo said, “It...it says in the report that—”

     “Yes, yes, I know what happens,” Jack said. “We’ve been over this already, she rode a van out, and then three hours later they found her just...sitting in a café, downtown.”

     “Who drove that van?” Judy asked

     “We don’t know,” Bogo said. “That’s what we’ve been trying to figure out.”

     “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” Nick said. “That wasn’t just some random van she secretly hitched a ride on…”

     “No, yeah, there was obviously an outside party,” said Judy. “I’m just surprised it took the time it did for them to realize she was gone.”

     “EMP,” Bogo said. “The whole block went dark.”

     “Jesus,” Jack breathed, rubbing the back of his head.

     “She’s on heavy lockdown now,” said Bogo. “New floor, new cell, new guards. We’ve got some of the precinct up there ourselves.”

     “Well,” Nick said, _“Good.”_

     “I just don’t get how she’s been running the BLO,” Judy said. “I mean, she’s been locked up in there for almost a year now, how did she revive it?”

     “It’s not direct action, that’s for sure,” Jack said. “Mammals are probably just acting under her. She barely has to pull any strings at all, most likely.”

     The room fell silent. Judy looked down at her feet. With a gentle tug, Nick adjusted the shoulder strap on his sling. Bogo sighed and gestured to the packet on the desk.

     “Look,” he said, “There’s the case--use it how you want to use it.”

     The room sat in silence for a moment.

     Suddenly, Judy pushed her chair out from the desk and stood up.

 _“…Let’s go see this bitch,”_ she muttered through gritted teeth, yanking her jacket from the back of her chair.

* * *

     “You think Honey’s gonna be okay on her own?”

     Judy looked over at Nick in the passenger seat.

     “Yeah,” said Judy, “I mean, you know her best, right? So…”

     “I’m sure she’ll be okay,” Jack said from the back seat of the cruiser. “She’s with other officers if she needs anything, she has her computer with her…she’s spent the past three years on her own, so…”

     Nick sighed. He looked back out towards the approaching tower of St. Bearitali’s.

 _‘I know,’_  he thought, _‘That’s exactly why I’m worried about her…’_

     The check-in process went much quicker this round with the inclusion of Jack. The T.U.S.K. badge was an automatic bypass to the pat-downs or weapon-checking. This time as they entered the elevator, the guard--a tall deer in a worker’s jumpsuit--pressed  the button for the top floor.

     As the doors closed, Judy sighed. Nick glanced down at her.

     “Ready?” he asked.

     Judy inhaled deeply and shook her head. “I’m not looking forward to this,” she mumbled to Nick.

     “Really?” he said, “ _I_ am. It’s gonna be real satisfying to actually _see_ her behind bars.”

     “Actually, it should be plexiglass,” Jack said. “Usually bars are used in older establishments, and for perpetrators of more petty crimes.”

     Judy and Nick looked at him. Jack glanced at them, then awkwardly averted his eyes. He cleared his throat.

     “…It’s...plexiglass...” he repeated to himself under his breath.

     Then, with a chime, the doors opened.

* * *

     The large, hydraulic vault door began to hiss to life as the locks slowly unsheathed. As the door creaked open, light poured into the dark alcove where the trio had been lead. The door slowly revealed a small white figure in an orange jumpsuit, sitting in a chair. The bright, florescent lights gleamed off of the walls, abrasive and blinding.

     Judy, Jack, and Nick stepped over the frame and into the cell.

     As she approached, Judy realized that Bellwether was in fact cuffed to the chair--two metal bands around her wrists, and two metal bands around her ankles. The next thing she noticed was the flickering shock collar strapped around her neck.

     She also looked like she had just escaped from _hell_.

     Her wool was frazzled and strewn about in odd places, and her jumpsuit sat ruffled and taut in odd places on her body. She had deep, dark bags underneath her eyes, and there was visible singeing on her neck wool near the battery pack of the shock collar. Her glasses were slightly askew on her nose, one of the lenses cracked on the bottom corner.

     Her bright green eyes slowly rolled up to look at Judy through the plexiglass.

     The guard from the elevator came forward with a small wireless microphone, one usually meant to sit on top of a desk. They handed it to Jack, who quietly nodded his head. He cleared his throat, and he brought the mic to his lips.

     “Ms. Bellwether,” he said calmly, “My name is Agent Jack Savage. I’m a part of T.U.S.K., a government-funded national investigation agency. If, um...if I’m not mistaken, I’m sure you’re familiar with Detectives Hopps and Wilde of the ZPD...”

     Bellwether’s eyes remained locked on Judy’s.

     “We would like to ask you some questions,” Jack said, “About your recent breakout. It shouldn’t take very long, as long as you’re willing to cooperate with us.”

     Silence. She still hadn’t left Judy’s eyes. As the muffled sound of monitors crackled through the plexiglass, the trio nervously eyed each other. Nick’s ears began to fold backwards.

     “...Is it on?”

     “I think so,” Jack muttered to Nick. He gave the mic a couple gentle taps, and there was a distinguishable pattern of thumps that answered on the other side. Jack frowned and brought the mic back up to his mouth.

     “Dawn,” he said, “May we ask you some questions?”

     Bellwether slowly blinked. Her eyes slowly steered away from Judy’s and pried themselves over to Nick.

     There was a brief moment of stillness.

     Judy looked over at Nick, then back at Bellwether, processing. Jack let out a gust of air.

     “Do you understand what we’re asking, Dawn?”

     Judy looked back at Nick, and she realized. Her ears fell and she buried her face in her paws with a sigh. She began to turn away.

     “What?” Nick asked.

     “God, I can’t believe this…”

     “What? What is it?”

     “It’s...sweet cheese and...it’s _you_ ,” Judy said carefully. “It’s _you,_ Nick…”

     Nick let out a small puff of air, his eyebrows pinched together. Judy squeezed her eyes shut, an agonized sigh escaping from her throat.

     “She’s--she’s not gonna do anything with you in the room...” she managed to pry out of her mouth.

     The three turned to look back at Bellwether. She continued to glare at Nick, the rest of her body frozen. Nick stared her down, long and hard. Finally, his jaw clenched.

     “Alright,” he said, “Fine. I get it. Won’t talk to the fuckin’ pred in the room, I got it.”

     “Nick--”

     “No, it’s whatever,” Nick threw over his shoulder, “Doesn’t wanna talk to a fox, it’s--it’s fine…”

     The door--which had been in the process of closing--paused, and Nick quietly marched out. As he disappeared into the alcove, Jack and Judy shared a look. Jack sighed through his nose. Judy frowned and rubbed the back of her neck.

     “Look,” she said in a low voice, “It might just be better if I talk to her. She may not cooperate the full way with you, either.”

     Jack raised his eyebrows.

     “Are you sure?”

     “I’ve got a hunch,” Judy said. “If not, then...I don’t know, we’ll trade places or something...just...just let me try to get through to her first.”

     Jack took a moment to mull it over in his head. After few seconds, with a resignated nod, he handed the microphone to Judy. He walked back through the door as it began to close again. Judy watched as the large metal wall clicked into place, and she listened to the clank of each individual bolt in the door sliding shut.

     With a sigh, Judy slowly turned back around to look at Bellwether.

     Bellwether was staring at her again. Except this time, it was different. It was softer...more sympathetic, almost. It seemed welcoming and warm, as if Bellwether was simply sitting there with her arms open, waiting for a hug.

_“He could’ve stayed, you know?”_

     Bellwether’s voice was calm and collected. There was nothing cold or sinister about it. Rather, it seemed quite...relaxed. Content, even.

 _“He seems nice,”_ she continued.

     Judy glared at her.

     “Who?” she asked coldly.

 _“Oh, you know who,”_ the speaker from the ceiling crackled. _“He seems very upright, very respectable…”_

     Bellwether trailed off for a second, staring at Judy carefully. Suddenly, she snorted.

 _“...Definitely better for you than that_ fox,” she mumbled quietly to herself, _“That’s for sure…”_

     Judy’s grip tightened on the microphone. She swallowed, hard.

     “When I want life advice, I’ll ask for it,” Judy spat. “In the meantime...why don’t we talk about what you did to my fucking niece.”

     Bellwether raised an eyebrow.

_“What do you mean?”_

     Judy let out a gust of air. “I think you know what I mean,” she said.

     Bellwether stared at Judy for a moment, the gears in her head visibly turning. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off. She gently gasped.

 _“Oh,_ that _whole thing,”_ Bellwether said. _“I see.”_

     Bellwether chuckled to herself, and her head rolled down onto her chest. Judy glared at her as she sat there for a moment, unmoving. Suddenly, Bellwether’s head bobbed back up.

_“You wanna know something, Judy?”_

     Judy inhaled sharply through her nose.

     “What?”

 _“I...I am_ tired _,”_ Bellwether said with a sigh. _“Exhausted. You have no idea what kinds of things they do to me here.”_

     “Answer my question.”

 _“I’m getting there,”_ Bellwether said with a nod. _“I’m getting there…”_

     Bellwether’s eyes drifted up to the ceiling. They seemed a bit glassy and lost.

 _“It’s really tough for us little guys in here,”_ she sang, looking above her. _“It’s scary. You don’t have any way to defend yourself. These mammals, they just come right in and assume that you’ll do whatever they want.”_

     Judy watched her, uncomfortable. Judy glanced to where Bellwether was looking, and suddenly, she did a double take.

     A camera was mounted in the corner of the cell, in front of the plexiglass.

_“I’m very tired of it, Judy.”_

     Bellwether met eyes with Judy. A million words swam inside them. Judy could feel a weight slowly sitting on her chest.

 _“Every day...”_ she continued. _“...I’m trapped, Judy. I can’t do anything to defend myself. It’s been like this for so_ long, _I...I am_ sick _of it_ _...”_

     The yellow light on her shock collar ticked and turned red. Judy unconsciously began to tug the bottom of her shirt.

     Bellwether slowly and subtly leaned forward. Her eyes pierced through Judy’s, directly to her soul.

 _“Help me…”_ she mouthed very quietly, “... _please…”_

     Judy took a cautious step away from the plexiglass. She hesitantly shook her head.

     “W--n--no,” she stammered. “This doesn’t--you broke out, this doesn’t make any--”

 _“Judy,”_ Bellwether droned, _“Don’t tell me you believe_ that _\--”_

     “What else am I supposed to believe?” said Judy. “You went missing, you’re on the tape of my niece getting attacked, by some--What else am I supposed to get from that?”

 _“Judy, it’s not that simple,”_ Bellwether said as she sat up in her chair, her voice rising, _“It’s so much more than that--”_

     A sound so roaring, so deafening, suddenly exploded from behind the plexiglass. Blue light emitted from the shock collar as Bellwether’s face contorted, her body twitching disturbingly. Her empty eyes looked as if they were about to burst from her skull, her teeth clamping down hard on her tongue. After what seemed like an eternity, the sound was cut off, and Bellwether slumped down in her chair, breathing heavily.

     Judy watched in horror as a faint trail of smoke floated up from her neck and towards the ceiling. She carefully swallowed.

     “...B...Bellwether?” she asked carefully into the microphone. “Are...are you alright--”

 _“Do you think,”_ Bellwether rasped, her head sitting on her chest, _“Do you think I’m behind this? Behind_ them _?”_

     Judy responded with a dumb silence. Bellwether raised her head, a piercing glare tearing through the wall.

 _“They aren’t just going after_ preds, _Judy,”_ she said. _“It’s more than that. This...is..._ everyone. _”_

     Judy gaped at Bellwether, her words stuck in her throat.

 _“Look around you Judy,”_ Bellwether growled, _“See this for what it is! They’re trying to--”_

     The shock collar ignited. Bellwether lurched in agony, a strained groan emitting from her throat. Her feet pushed against the ground, her back arching off of the chair. Her tongue began to bleed, her teeth beginning to puncture through the outer tissue. She thrashed her head violently, trying to fight it.

     It wasn’t stopping.

     Judy looked up helplessly at the camera. Her grip had tightened on the microphone, her fingers almost crushing the plastic. She turned back to Bellwether, who was writhing and shaking in her seat. She ran to the plexiglass, pressing herself up against it, and raised the microphone.

     “Take deep breaths,” she said quickly, her heart pounding out of her chest. “Try to relax, Dawn, try to--”

     A panel in the back of the cell opened, and guards came filing into the room. They quickly dashed to Bellwether and surrounded her. As Judy heard the vault door unlock behind her, she watched as the guards quickly unfastened the restraints around her ankles and wrists. They fiddled desperately with the shock collar, trying to turn it off. Suddenly, one guard--a heavily armored pangolin--wedged his way in and unfastened it. He tossed it on the ground, the exposed metal prongs still crackling with thick, blue stripes. Judy watched helplessly as the guards picked a limp Bellwether out of her seat and carried her towards the opening in the back of the room.

     As the group disappeared into the darkness, Judy heard the vault door hissing open behind her. She turned around and watched it slowly glide open.

     Jack and Nick stood in the alcove, dumbstruck.

     Judy took a hesitant step towards them, but her feet refused to take her any farther. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Nick took a deep breath.

     “...We...we were watching the security feed...” he said breathlessly. 

     The three stared at each other, breathing heavily. Behind them, singed bits of wool produced faint threads of smoke, slowly turning to embers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys may have noticed an ongoing pattern these past few months. Where I'll post a chapter, a little over a month goes by, and then I just drop a new one out of the blue. It's been on and off like this for about five or six months now.
> 
> This is because I'm in the middle of my senior year of high school.
> 
> I'm finishing up college apps, studying for APs, all of this paired with a dozen other variables. I want to thank you all for being so patient with me, and waiting for these new chapters to come out.
> 
> That being said:
> 
> I must say that I will be going on a hiatus. It won't be anything out of the norm (by this point, at least), but you shouldn't expect any updates for another month, at the minimum. There are other things I must take care of irl, before I come back to this project. By the beginning of April, if not the end of March, a new chapter will come out.
> 
> Thank you for understanding,
> 
> -JCP


	24. 01010100/01110111/01101110/01110100/01111001/01100110/01110010

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The mind replays what the heart can't delete"

     Jack’s eyes opened.

     His sheets were tangled around his waist and legs. The faint and muffled humming of the engines and boilers floors below him drifted softly up to his ears. His chest rose and fell with each careful breath.

     He couldn’t quite place it, but something was off.

     The occasional blip of green light from the smoke detector kept catching Jack’s eye. Besides those periodic green snapshots of his room--the papers scattered across his desk, clothes haphazardly tossed into drawers--his room was almost pitch black, except for the faint sliver of light from the moon trickling in through the window. 

     ...The window...that was  _ open _ .

     Wait a second.

     Jack very slowly sat up in his bed, the sheets quietly falling off of him. His ears swiveled back and forth on his head like radar, picking up every flit of paper and adjustment of springs underneath him. He stayed perfectly still as he listened.

     A minute passed.

     Everything was still.

     “Hey!”

     Jack jumped back with a yelp. His eyes were locked on the white head that was now protruding from underneath his bunk, a wide smile on its face. It snickered as Jack clutched his chest harder.

     “What th-- _ Skye? _ ”

     “Sorry,” the arctic fox chuckled, starting to climb up onto the top bunk. “I didn’t mean to scare you like that--”

     “...What...what are you, what are you doing here, how did y--what, what time is it--”

     “...W-wait, I--I thought we talked about this…” Skye said, getting comfortable on the mattress. Jack unconsciously scooted over for her a little bit. Skye’s brows furrowed. “We were gonna hang out tonight, right?”

     “...I...what? Sweet cheese and...I-I thought you were  _ joking _ ,” Jack stammered, rubbing his eyes.

     Skye’s ears fell.

     “...Oh…” she said quietly. “...Oh...okay, I...yeah, that makes--that makes sense, actually, that...okay...I mean, I--do you want me to leave then, or--”

     “No, I-- _ no, _ ” Jack said, scooting over to give her more room. “No, I don’t, I just...wasn’t...I wasn’t expecting you, I...wait, is--is Casey still--is he asleep? Is he--”

     “He’s not here.”

     Jack looked up at her.

     “What?”

     Jack crawled to the edge of his top bunk and grabbed the railing. He poked his head over and looked down at the bed beneath him. The smoke alarm blinked, revealing nothing but empty sheets.

     “Where is he?”

     “We talked this out at dinner hour,” Skye said matter-of-factly. “We switched places. He’s with Sam.”

     “He’s with  _ Sam _ ?”

     “Yeah. She wanted him over, too.”

     Jack looked back up at Skye. She was grinning at him, a glint of mischief in her eyes. Jack sighed, a smile in the corner of his lips.

     “...Well...I mean, as long as they don’t wake the whole girl’s building...”

     “...Ewwww, shut up!”

     Skye playfully punched his shoulder. Jack laughed.

     “What, I’m serious!” he said. “What else do you think they’re doing?”

     “God, as long as they’re on her bed, not mine...”

     Jack collapsed into quiet laughter, flopping over onto his side. Skye brought her paws against her eyes and down across her cheeks, a low groan emitting from her throat.

     “Ugh, that’s  _ actually _ disgusting…”

     Jack lay on his side, his heavy breathing subsiding. He looked at Skye inquisitively.

     “...How’d you get through the window?”

     “...What?”

     “I said how’d you get through the window?” Jack repeated, sitting up. “We’re on the third floor. Did you just, like...jump, or something? Just, shoot straight up?”

     “... _ What?” _

     “Oh my g--no, I’m  _ kidding _ ,” Jack chuckled. He sighed. “But, like, seriously though. How’d you get this high?”

     “...Well, I me--you guys’ve got the vines on the side wall here, so I--”

     “--Wait wait wait, you climbed the  _ vines?” _

     “Well, I-- _ no, _ it’s--it’s got the metal grating, you know, that it weaves through, so…”

     “Oh,” Jack said, looking back towards the window, “Okay. Yeah, that--that makes sense…”

     “It was a lot of fun,” Skye said. “I felt like I was in Mission Impawssible or something.”

     Jack looked back over at Skye, in an amused disbelief. She beamed back at him. He sighed and stared down at his paws in his lap.

     “You know,” he said, “If any of the head agents or professors hear about this--or, catch us,  _ you _ , in here--”

     “Oh no, yeah,” Skye said plainly, nodding. “We’re  _ dead. _ ”

     “...Yeah…”

     “But, you know, I mean,  _ that’d _ be the way to go, right?” said Skye. “Breaking curfew, caught in another mammal’s dorm? A  _ boy’s  _ dorm, for that matter-- _ oh, _ the  _ scandal _ \--”

     “Alright, alright, we get it,” Jack said, “You’ve won your Oscar, okay…?”

     Skye giggled. She plopped down on her back, her eyes still up at Jack. He gazed down at her, softly. Skye began to play with the hem of her shirt.

     “Did you study for that foreign etiquette exam tomorrow?”

     Jack’s face fell. He brought his paws against his face and groaned.

     “Oh, god…”

     “No, it’s okay, I didn’t study either.”

     “God, I--I can’t  _ believe _ ...” Jack said, leaning back againsot the wall. “Like, what does it matter what I’m supposed to wear at a Parliament meeting in Bearlin? I mean, seriously? When the hell am I ever gonna use  _ that? _ ”

     “Or the whole thing about the way to greet somebody in Japanda, the whole upper-status slash lower-status thing--”

     “Yeah, yeah, and then male versus female--”

     “Yeah…”

     “Ugh, god, stop,” Jack said, placing a paw against his forehead, “I’m gonna throw up…”

     Skye snickered and wriggled back up onto her elbows. Jack sighed and slumped further down. 

     The room fell quiet for a moment. Jack stared at the wall, unresponsive. Skye tilted her head. She bit her lip and inhaled quietly through her nose.

     “What’s up?”

     Jack’s ear swiveled towards her.

     “Hm?”

     “What’s on your mind?”

     Jack looked over at her. She was scanning his face carefully. He took a deep breath..

     “Nothing, I...still a little groggy, that’s all…”

     There was a silence. Skye sat up a little further.

     “You know, the sudden downturn of the corners of the mouth indicates that someone is lying,” she said conversationally, examining her claws. “Also, the flick of the ears, like you just did, can connote hints of anxiety or guilt, which ties into--”

     “Alright, alright, stop,” Jack said, shutting his eyes. “Jesus, you sound like Head Agent Trunkaby--”

     “Yeah, I know,” Skye chuckled half-heartedly. “We were learning this stuff last week…”

     Jack rubbed his eyes meditatively. Skye sighed.

     “Seriously, though,” Skye said, “What’s up? What’s...swirlin’ around up there?”

     Jack looked over at her. She stared back. He turned his head away and sighed.

     “I don’t know,” he said quietly, “I’m just...just thinkin’, ‘s all…”

     “About what?”

     “I...I, uh...I don’t know, just…” Jack struggled, looking up at the ceiling, “Just, um... _ why?  _ You know? Why are we here? Why am  _ I _ here?”

     “Jeez,” Skye snorted. “Okay, Socates--”

     “No, I mean, like--” Jack said, turning to her, “At the Academy.  _ Here. _ I mean, I--like,  _ I  _ certainly didn’t choose this, I didn’t get asked if I wanted to join--”

     “I mean, I don’t really think  _ any  _ of us did,” Skye said. “That’s how most of us ended up here, right? Just got...shipped off because of our parents...”

     Jack scoffed. “ _ What _ parents?” he muttered.

     Skye stared at him.

     “...Oh...oh yeah,” she said quietly. She shifted her weight uncomfortably. “I--I forgot about that, I’m sorry--”

     Jack looked over at her. “Why?” he asked plainly.

     Skye opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She slowly and quietly closed it, averting her eyes. Jack rubbed his head, and let his paws slide down to the back of his neck.

     “...I-I mean, I don’t want to be here,” he said. “I just wanna...be  _ normal, _ you know? I want to--I wanna go to a normal school, learn normal things...talk to  _ normal people _ \--”

     “You’re saying this like you’re normal yourself…”

     Jack glanced over at her. Skye had the hint of a grin in the corner of her mouth. Jack sighed.

     “...I don’t know,” he said. “I-It’s stupid, I know, but I was just...”

     “...W-wait, hold on,  _ what? _ ” Skye said, sitting up higher.  _ “Excuse _ me? What do y-- _ stupid? _ ”

     Jack turned his head to her. He struggled to find words.

     “...I dunno, I...you’re right, I’m sorry…”

     Skye looked at him carefully. She watched as his eyes danced about, jumping from his paws to his lap, to his sheets, to the desk, to her, to the window, to the railing, all the way back to his paws, to his lap, to his sheets…

     She scooted a little closer to him and cleared her throat. He turned towards her. She looked straight into his eyes.

     “You wanna know something?”

     Jack gazed at her, confused. His eyes darted away for a second, then jumped back to hers.

     “...Uh...I mean...sure, I-I guess--”

     And just like that, her lips were pressed against his, her paw reaching up to cradle the back of his head, her chin tilting in to get even closer to him, to try to say everything, absolutely everything, with almost no words necessary. Jack’s paws found their way to the railing behind him, and clamped onto it like iron. He felt the warmth of the breath coming from her nose brushing softly against his face, but he couldn’t see anything, because all that was in his eyes was white...beautiful,  _ beautiful _ white.

     After what seemed like eternity, Skye slowly and gently pulled away from him, her paw still lightly cupping the back of his head. Her eyes slowly opened.

     Jack stared back at her, his eyes laced with confused terror.

     Skye swallowed carefully. She awkwardly brought her paw away from him and let it fall on the mattress next to her. Her eyes flicked downwards, away from his. She started absentmindedly playing with the fabric of the sheets, rubbing it between the pads on her thumb and forefinger.

     She took a breath.

     “Okay,” she said. “That, um...that, that was it, that was...that was what I wanted to tell you…”

     Jack met her with silence.

     “I mean, I-I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Skye said, bringing a paw up to wipe her nose, “And, uh...you know, I thought, that, you know,  _ now _ …  _ now _ was the _ time _ … I dunno…”

     Jack swallowed carefully.

    “...Was...was... _ that... _ why you...why you came tonight…?”

     Skye shrugged half-heartedly.

     “...I dunno... _ sorta _ ,” she said. She stifled a cough. “I-I also wanted to hang out with you, so...you know, that wasn’t the only thing, I guess…”

     There was more silence.

     “Look, I-I guess that wasn’t the best thing to do,” Skye said, shifting her weight, “And I realize that now, and I’m-I’m sorry, and, I...I think I’ll just, uh...yeah, you know what, I’ll leave, now, and you can go back to--”

     “Do you wanna know something?”

     Skye froze. Her eyes remained glued to the mattress. She swallowed, hard, and slowly pried her eyes up to Jack.

     “....Um...y...yeah?”

     Jack grabbed her shoulders and planted his lips on hers. Skye made a small noise of surprise, but the moment quickly faded, as she closed her eyes and gently wrapped her arms around Jack’s waist. Jack pulled in tighter, guiding his paws to the back of her neck. They carefully tweaked and turned their heads, trying to find every possible angle for their hearts to soak up and enjoy. 

     Suddenly, they began to tip backward, and much to their surprise, they landed on Skye’s back with a thump, causing them to bounce on the mattress. They broke away, laughing.

     “Are--Are you okay?” Jack wheezed.

     “Yeah,” Skye giggled, barely keeping it together, “Yeah, I’m fine, are you--”

     “Yeah,” Jack sighed, a giddy smile on his face, “I’m--I’m  _ great _ …”

     Jack was cut off by Skye’s lips pressed against his, and he happily returned the sentiment. They lay there, connected, for a long time.

     Finally, pulled away, noses still touching. They stared at each other for a long time, dreamy grins plastered on their faces. Skye eyed Jack for a moment, then snickered.

     “What?”

     “...I dunno, I’m just...I’m really happy…”

     Skye giggled happily and squeezed him tight. Jack buried his face in the side of her neck, chuckling. Eventually, the laughter subsided, and their chests began to rise and fall as one. Skye’s tail began to curl around them. 

     “How long?”

     Jack raised his eyebrows, his face still buried in Skye’s fur. “Hm?”

     “How long did you know?” Skye asked.

     Jack lifted his head and looked at her.

     “Know what?”

     “That you-- _ this,  _ that you felt like this?”

     Jack looked around for a moment, thinking. His cheeks began to turn red.

     “...You’re...god, you’re gonna laugh--”

     “Wh--I will  _ not _ \--”

     “Okay, okay,” Jack said, chuckling. He sighed. “Fine, I’ll--I’ll tell you…”

     Skye gazed at him, waiting. Jack took a deep breath.

     “...Um...I, ah...six. Six years.”

     Skye’s eyebrows shot up, her mouth hanging open. She brought a paw to his chest.

     “...You’re  _ kidding! _ ”

     “No, I-I’m not--”

_      “Six years?!” _

     “I know, I know, it’s ridiculous, I--”

     “No, it--oh my god,  _ stop, _ ” Skye said. “Are you kidding me? Stop it! That isn’t ridiculous, I--are you serious?!”

     “Okay, I d--okay…”

     “What?”

     “I don’t know, I just--I was kinda embarrassed…”

     “Oh my god, st-- _ Jack _ ,” Skye said, “Seriously? Come  _ on,  _ dude, I’ve been crushing on you since I first  _ saw _ you, okay? Six years is literally  _ nothing _ …”

     “You did  _ not-- _ ”

     “Uh, yeah, I  _ did! _ ”

     “Really?” Jack asked incredulously. “You’ve liked me since we first met?”

     “W--um,  _ yes _ ,” Skye said heavily. “Would I lie to you about this?”

     “...Uh...no, I-I guess not--”

     “Uh, yeah, I  _ wouldn’t _ ,” Skye replied. “Yeah, I--I have unabashedly had the hots for you since I was seven years old.”

     Jack laughed. Skye quickly followed suit. She pressed a paw against her face, trying to hold it all in. They lay there, chests bouncing violently, for a couple minutes.

     Eventually, the laughter dissipated. They were soon breathing calmly, Jack slowly rising up and down on top of Skye’s ribcage. They melted into each other’s arms, basking in each other’s warmth. 

     Jack felt his eyelids beginning to get heavy. His breathing was slowing down, and he could feel his mind starting to drift away. Very slowly, his eyelids began to close.

     “...Jack?”

     His eyes gently flittered.

     “Hm?”

     “...I’ve, um...I’ve been thinking…”

     “...Yeah?”

     “Yeah.”

     “...About...about what…”

     “About our, um...our final assignment.”

     Jack’s eyes slowly opened. He raised his head from Skye’s chest and looked at her.

     “...W...What...what do you mean? The--the big one, the one before graduation?”

     “Yeah.”

     "...The one in eight years?"

     "Yeah."

     Jack furrowed his brow. “...W--Why?”

     “...I dunno,” Skye sighed, “I just...just, heard some of the older students talking about it, and--”

     “Ugh, j--Skye, c’mon, you know they just make that stuff up, right--”

     “I--how do you know, though?” Skye asked. “How do you know?”

     Jack was silent. Skye let out a gust of air and stared up at the ceiling.

     “They were talking about how it ended with a one-on-one sparring match,” she said, hollow. “Like,  _ real _ sparring, like...no holds-barred, hit-landing, blood-drawing,  _ real  _ stuff…”

     “...I really don’t think that’s what it is--”

     “Yeah, b--we don’t  _ know, _ though,” Skye said. “It’s confidential, right? If anybody leaks info about it, they’re expelled before graduation...yeah, they’re--remember that one lion from three or four--”

     “But that’s--that’s all the more reason why they’re probably making that stuff up, right?”

     Skye’s mouth opened, ready with words, but they never came. She quickly closed it. Jack cradled her face with his hand and began to gently rub her cheek with his thumb.

     “And, look,” he said, “Even if it is a sparring match, like they were saying, do you  _ really _ think they’d make us go at each other that hard? Like,  _ actually _ draw blood?”

     “...Uh... _ yeah _ ,” Skye said. “They don’t care. Jiu jitsu for the past seven years, we bled all the time, and they just.. .”

     Jack mulled this over in his brain for a moment. Skye shifted her head on the pillow.

     “I gue--I mean, I guess, just, what I’m worried about,” Skye stuttered, squeezing Jack a little tighter, “Is, just...god, I...if this is real, and, this is actually what’s going to happen, then...what if…”

     She trailed off. Jack furrowed his brow.

     “...What if  _ what _ ?”

     Skye averted her eyes, silent. She gingerly placed a palm on the back of Jack’s head and carefully lowered it back towards her chest. Jack turned his head and placed his cheek on her sternum, facing the rest of the room. Skye sighed.

     “...What if  _ we’re _ put together _ , _ Jack…?”

     The sentence fell onto Jack like a boulder. He lay still on Skye’s chest, his eyes glued to the wall.

     “...I mean, especially  _ now _ , after...after-- _ this _ ...you know…?”

     Jack swallowed. He could feel the anxiety starting to course through his veins. He felt Skye’s head move.

     “...Jack?”

 

 

 

_          “...Jack?" _

__

 

 

 

 

_                                       “ . . . J   a      c       k            ?                        ” _

  
  


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

     “... Jack .”

     Jack’s eyes snapped away from the window. He quickly turned his head and looked around the interior of the police cruiser. Nick was busy on the phone, talking to someone, as he looked out the window on his right. Judy was facing forward, driving. Sitting in the seat next to him was Bellwether’s shock collar, frayed at the attach clip. 

     Jack came to the developing realization that they were in Savannah Central, about six miles away from the police station.

     “...Jack, can you hear me?”

     Jack looked up at the top rear view mirror. Judy’s eyes met him there, tinted with mild concern. Jack cleared his throat.

     “Yes. Yes, I, um... _ yes _ , I can. I’m sorry, I...believe you lost me there for a second...got a little lost in my thoughts, that’s all.”

     “Uh...yeah,” Judy said uncertainly. “You were...pretty far out there, man.”

     “Yes, I-I realize. Again, I--I apologize...”

     “--Okay, that’s great. Yeah. See ya.”

     Nick brought the phone away from his ear and hung up. He slid it back into his pocket and turned his head to the road in front of them.

     “So,” Judy said, “What’s the verdict?”

     “She said there could be multiple reasons,” Nick said. “Apparently they’re all tapped into a wireless system, they can easily be hacked into.”

     “...Jesus...”

     The cruiser sat in silence for a while as it tore down the city streets. Jack glanced down at his paws and realized they were balled into fists. He quickly unclenched them. Judy let out a long sigh from the front seat.

     “...It’s not her.”

     Jack and Nick looked up at her. Her eyes were still glued to the road, but her face was wrought with heavy thought. Nick swallowed and weakly shook his head.

     “...No...it’s not.”

     Jack sat in silence.


	25. 01010100/01110111/01101110/01110100/01111001/01100110/01110110/01100101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tout objectif sans un plan n'est qu'un souhait
> 
> >a goal without a plan is just a wish

     The metal prongs deafeningly roared to life, bright blue strands of electricity dancing across them--a crackling bridge of energy. The rapid pops echoed off the walls of the conference room, the sound enveloping the four mammals that stood around the table. The jittery blue rods danced in their glassy and vacant eyes.

     Honey pressed a button on the keyboard. As quickly as it had begun, the collar switched off. 

     The room was silent for a moment.

     “...See?” Honey said with a meager shrug. “I mean...easy as that. Just find the network they’re operating on, bust your way into it, and just...touch of a button, you know? Fuckin’-- _ boom _ . Buzzsaw.”

     The other three stared at the collar tiredly.

     “...Right at your pawtips.”

     “How’d they know which one to fire off?”

     “Huh?”

     Judy pried herself away from the table and turned towards Honey, beginning a casual amble over to her computer.

     “How did they know which one to activate?” Judy repeated. “I mean, it’s not like this is the only shock collar on the property, how’d they know which one was hers?”

     “They keep a log,” Honey said. “The guards, they keep a log of serial numbers assigned to each inmate. For the shock collars, I mean. I-- _ whoof,  _ okay; the collars have serial numbers, they write down which one goes to which inmate. They probably just got access to that, by, I dunno...online archive, or something, you know?”

     Nick sighed. “Yeah,” he mumbled to himself sarcastically, “‘Cuz that’s easy, just crack open a confidential archive, no fuckin’ biggie…”

     “...I mean,  _ yeah _ \--” Honey said, reclining back in her chair, “--that’s what they’re doin’ man. I don’t know what else to tell ya…”

     There was a brief pause. Judy was standing over Honey’s shoulder, next to the keyboard. She tapped the same key Honey had tapped before. With an earsplitting crack, the collar burst back to life. Jack’s shoulders flinched. Judy quickly tapped the key again.

     “Sorry.”

     “No, it’s--it’s alright…”

     Jack straightened up and rubbed his neck, his eyes glued to the collar. Honey pulled closer to the keyboard and started typing.

     “This thing is going, like, full blast right now,” she said, “It’s usually not this--lemme see if I can do something, hold on...”

     She trailed off, typing away. Jack slowly brought his paws down to the table, and he braced himself against it, staring into the collar. Nick rubbed his temples meditatively. He leaned back in his chair with a sigh, letting it slowly start to rotate outward on its swivel, towards Judy and Honey.

     “God,” he whispered incredulously, “What the hell are we doing…”

     Judy looked over at him. “What do you mean?” she said.

     “These guys are...they’re just chugging along with whatever, and they keep barring us off with these crazy little curveballs they’re throwing at us…” Nick said, annoyed. “I mean, they’re always, like, three steps ahead of us...and, you know, meanwhile, here  _ we _ are, wading in a pile of our own  _ shit _ , practically...”

     Judy sighed, her eyes drifting down to her feet. She walked back over towards her side of the table. With a tired paw, she dragged a chair away from the table and slumped into it. She sat there for a while in silence.

     “...It’s just…” Nick quietly continued, swiveling back towards the table and leaning on it, “...Every lead...every lead either just...disintegrates, or flips around, or is just a dud, and...I feel like we’re getting absolutely nowhere with this case, you know…”

     “...I’m still processing something,” Judy said, her eyebrows furrowed. “If Bellwether isn’t the ringleader, why are they trying to convince us--”

     “I--hold on,  _ what? _ ”

     Judy and Nick looked up at Honey. She stared at them, her eyebrow raised.

     “...Oh. Yeah, it’s--it’s not her,” Judy said. “She’s being forced to--”

     “N--okay, wait, hold--I’m sorry, I’m  _ really _ confused right now,” Honey said, turning towards them, “What do you  _ mean _ it’s not her?”

     “She tried to tell me something in there,” said Judy, leaning forward. “That’s why they cut her off. She was saying something about how they were forcing her to do things, and that it wasn’t just preds they were attacking, but more than that, and...it was all just really weird, and the only way it makes sense is if--if they’re only using her as a figurehead, and...she’s not the actual one running it.”

     Honey processed this for a moment. Suddenly, she sat up further in her chair.

     “But--are you sure she was telling the truth?”

     Judy and Nick stared at her.

     “What?”

     “I mean...are you sure she wasn’t just...like, she doesn’t seem like a very trustworthy person,” Honey said, “I mean, didn’t she deceive the whole city into thinking that she was in no way involved with the Night Howler crisis? She just kind of lied her way through that whole thing, and no one picked up on it.”

     Judy leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

     “Like, she could just be pretending,” Honey said, “In order to throw you off her trail, you know? What if that whole thing was--wait, that makes more sense, see, what if that whole thing was planned? Whoever had hacked into the collar system could’ve been ready as soon as you guys walked in the door, that whole thing could’ve been just to fake you out.”

     “Honey,” Nick suddenly piped up, “You’re saying this like Bellwether’s a professionally trained actress, or something--and, trust me...she’s not.”

     “Well, I--you don’t need to be, fuckin’,  _ Meryl Sheep _ to lie--”

     “Listen--” Nick interrupted, leaning forward in his chair, “--I wasn’t even in the room, I was watching from the security feeds--but, what I saw from her, just from those cameras--her body language, her eyes, everything--every single thing she said in that interaction, it was truthful.”

     Nick and Honey held eye contact for a moment. Honey looked over at Judy.

     “I mean, you were actually in there  _ with  _ her though, don’t tell me you didn’t pick up on any--”

     “I’m with Nick on this one,” Judy said. “She was telling the truth.”

     Honey exhaled through her nose and sat back in her chair. She looked back down at her computer.

     “Alright, fine,” she muttered. “I mean, I still don’t trust her, she’s a fuckin’  _ lamb _ for chrissake, but...whatever…”

     “Honey,” Nick droned, “Do you accept constructive criticism?”

     “...Sure.”

     “Call me crazy, but I think you might be a little biased.”

     Honey rolled her eyes. Nick gave a half-hearted shrug.

     Judy glanced over at Jack. He hadn’t moved at all. He was still braced against the table, his eyes staring into the collar. After a moment, she noticed he was mumbling to himself under his breath.

     “Hey, Cheekbones,” Honey said, “You’ve been awful quiet. What do you think?”

     Jack’s ears twitched. After a moment, he took a deep breath.

     “We’re gonna have to go undercover.”

     There was a long silence that fell over the room. Nick and Judy stared at Jack, processing. Honey raised an eyebrow.

     “I--I’m sorry,  _ what? _ ”

     “For the extraction of Orshak,” Jack muttered, half to himself, half to the rest of the room, “I don’t know how else we’re gonna do it, we’re gonna have to--”

     “Okay, wait, nonononono,” Honey nervously chuckled, “First of all, where the fuck did  _ this _ come from, ‘cause we were talking about something else entirely a second ago, and  _ second, _ I--you said absolutely jack  _ shit _ about going undercover when we first talked about this whole...secret agent mission...thing--”

     “We’ll have to do it on the train to Fleecadonia to cover our tracks, and then again when we do the extraction at the  _ Oasis _ \--”

     “ _ Jack. _ ”

     Jack looked up. All three of them were staring at him. His eyes uncertainly darted between their faces.  Judy let out a careful sigh.

    “Okay,” she said, “That sounds great. Okay? That’s a really good idea, and I think we should build on it. But, can all four of us talk about it? Together?”

     Jack stared at her for a second, then nodded.

     “Yes,” he said, “Yes, that’s--sorry, I was--yes, let’s talk about it--”

     “Listen, I really don’t think this is necessary--”

     “Hold on, Honey,” Nick said, “We aren’t committing to anything yet, we’re just tossing around ideas.”

     “Ye--exactly,” Judy said. “That’s all we’re doing. Jack, what was your idea?”

     “Okay,” Jack said, “I--okay…”

     Jack quickly walked over to a desk on the side of the room, and he quickly opened a drawer. He plucked a notepad form inside. As he walked back over to the table, he pulled a pen from his pocket. He placed the pad on the table and began sketching out a diagram.

     “So,” he said, “We start here in Zootopia. We need to get to Fleecadonia, without being traced or recognized. Wilde, Hopps, the BLO knows you’re on the case, and they know Miss Ba--uh, _ Honey, _ is involved. By what we’ve seen from them so far, it’d be no surprise if they knew I was involved as well. So, we need a cover to get on the train, get to Fleecadonia, and then get to the next location--which, by the way, shouldn’t be the  _ Oasis, _ we should be based somewhere else, so we’re one more step away from being traced or caught--”

     “Good,” Nick said, nodding, “That’s good--”

     “Okay,” Jack continued, “From there, we’ll need a cover at the  _ Oasis _ to complete the extraction mission. We’ll need a way to lure Orshak out of the way of the rest of the public, somewhere quiet and unkown, but easy to access, and then we’ll need a way to quickly escort him out of the  _ Oasis _ to...somewhere. But, somewhere far away, where the BLO can’t follow us.”

     “How about we let the Fleecadonia police force know what we’re doing,” Judy said, “Maybe they can give us transportation vehicles, maybe even an interrogation room--”

     “No, that’ll complicate things,” Jack said, “Even if we do this under T.U.S.K., we’ll have to go through the embassy, then lots of paperwork, meetings, things we won’t have time for. We’ll have to do it without them.”

     “What if we keep it in the hotel?” Nick asked, “In a remote basement, or something?”

     “No, but they could find us, though,” Judy said, “Wouldn’t it be smarter to transport him off the premises?”

     “That’s absolutely correct,” said Jack, “We can’t risk keeping him on the property.”

     “What if we lure him to an outdoor location,” Judy said, “Like, maybe a backstreet or something, and then get him into a car and whisk him away?”

     “Honey,” Nick said, “Get a map up.”

     “Are we  _ really _ doing this--”

_      “Honey.” _

     Honey sighed and went to her computer. Jack adjusted his collar.

     “That may not be the most ideal escape plan,” Jack said, “But with the circumstances, I think that’s the best we’ve got.”

     “That’s fine,” Nick said, “I think we can make it work.”

     “Okay,” Judy said, “How are we doing this?”

     Jack sighed and went back to the notepad. “Well,” he said, “We need to get him out at a time when there’s not a lot of attention on him. I’m guessing they’ll be having...I don’t know, some sort of evening activities planned--”

     “Okay,” Nick said, “So we’re looking for a sort of winding down, end of the night abduction?”

     “Yes.”

     “How are we luring him out there?” Judy asked.

     “Well…” Jack said, lightly tapping the pen on the pad, “He’s a doctor, right? What about a medical emergency?”

     A slow smile appeared on Nick’s face.

     “I like that,” he said, “That’s good.”

     “Okay, but  _ wait, _ ” Judy said, “What kind of medical emergency are we talking here? Because we need to think about, one; what kind of doctor he is--’cause that will determine what kind of crisis he’ll recognize--and two; do we  _ want _ him to recognize it? Do we want to get him there more urgently, or do we want to keep his head wrestling with trying to figure out what it is?”

     “Well, okay,” Nick said, “He’s the professor of Neurosurgical Sciences at NZU, right? But also, at the same time, the website for all of this says he’s trying to fight skin and lung cancer…”

     “No,” Jack said, “That’s their front. We have no idea he knows anything about those types of illnesses.”

     “He helped with the Nighthowler Antidote,” Honey chimed in lazily from the computer, “Don’t forget that.”

     “Okay, yeah, that’s all neurologically based,” Judy said. “So he’s a brain guy.”

     “...Okay,” Jack said, staring at the floor in thought. “I think we should throw him off his balance a little bit, so we’ll feign something non-neurological.”

     “Alright,” Nick said, “Why don’t we just...I dunno, fake a heart attack?”

     Judy shrugged. “Okay, do...any of us know how to fake a heart attack?”

     Jack raised a finger. “I do.”

     “Really?”

     “Yeah. I’ve done it before.”

     “I’ve got a location,” Honey said, “There’s an accessible cargo pick-up and drop-off station for the kitchens at the restaurant, you can take an exit door to it near the Northeast Conference Room. The Banquet, I’m  _ guessing _ , is gonna happen in one or more of the ballrooms, which are kind of on the other side of the property. I mean, by the crow’s flight, sure, they’re close, there’s just a lot of hallways and stuff to navigate to get there.”

     “Let me see…”

     The three gathered around Honey’s laptop. On the screen was a layout of the Oasis’s ground floor, including all of the side-streets that ran along it. The ballrooms were clumped together near the south end, and there was a string of conference rooms next to the main restaurant, which resided on the north side of the property. The floorplan  _ was _ a bit complicated, and it seemed like a lot of effort to get to the loading station. Jack let out a gust of air, surveying the map carefully.

     “That’s...that’s damn near perfect, actually,” Jack said, “Nobody’s going to be out there. We can have the van come in once he’s distracted and tending to me, and then we whisk him away. That’ perfect.”

     “We need someone to tell him, though,” Nick said, “I mean, alert Orshak about it, and lure him out there.”

     “I’ll do it,” Judy said. “I can be his, his sister, or fiancée, or something…”

     “Wilde,” Jack said, “We need a driver. Are you willing to take that on?”

     Nick shrugged. “Sure,” he said. “I mean, as long as I can maneuver my shoulder well enough, then…”

     “Oh...shoot,” Judy said, raising a clenched paw to her mouth, “That’s a problem. That may not work, maybe we should switch stuff around.”

     “The problem with putting him into the field, though,” Jack said, pushing off of the table, “Is that he is instantly recognizable with the sling. We’ll have to try hard enough to cover it up for the train, it’ll take more effort to hide it for the banquet. Also, it would not make a lot of sense for us two to be related--”

     “It’s all good,” Nick said, “I can just one-hand the steering. No problem.”

     “Are you sure?” Judy asked.

     “Yeah,” said Nick. “I mean, worst comes to worst, I just rack up on pain meds beforehand. I’ll be fine.”

     “Okay...cool,” Honey said, “It sounds like you three have got this thing down. So, uh, you know, safe travels and all that, I’ll be waitin’ for you guys back here.”

     “No,” Jack said. “You’re coming too.”

     “Ugh, fuckin--okay,  _ why? _ ”

     “We need a communications system,” said Jack, “A controlled radio system between all four of us to communicate, in order to make sure everything runs smoothly. I want you to be the head of that. Also, Honey, if possible, we could get you on security cams so you could have the full layout of the event, and make sure we don’t lose sight of him.”

     “Wait, that’s great,” Nick said. “We can set up both of those systems in the back of the van, so--”

     “No, we can’t,” said Honey, “I--that’s a lot of stuff to set up, and it’s gonna take a lot of space. We aren’t gonna have enough room for all of the monitors, the operating systems, the radio antennas, and all four--no,  _ five _ of us--also, guys, we’re kidnapping a fuckin’  _ zebra,  _ okay? He’s fuckin’ huge. I’m gonna need a separate car all together if we’re gonna do what you’re suggesting.”

     “Okay,” Jack said, “We can do that. When I put in a vehicle request, I’ll make sure that you’ve got--”

     “Hand pedal, yeah,” Honey said, “Push-pull would be great.”

     “Alright, lemme write that down--”

     “So...today is the eleventh.” Nick said, checking his phone. “The banquet is gonna be, uh…”

     “The twentieth.”

     “The twe--thanks, Honey--so,” he continued, “That means we’ve got...what, a little more than a week to throw this all together?”

     “Not quite,” said Jack, “Train to Fleecadonia is 15 hours. Overnight. That’ll take up about...two days of our time.”

     “So,” Judy said, “Then we have  _ exactly _ a week.”

     “Yes,” Jack said, “To...buy train tickets, track down two different vans and get them to Fleecadonia, book a hotel, build covers for the train and for the banquet, acquire a radio board and earpieces, find a secure location for the interrogation…”

     Jack trailed off, mumbling to himself. A silence fell about the room as they all looked at one another. 

     “Well,” Nick said, “Sounds like we got our work cut out for us. Let’s, uh...let’s get started, shall we?”

     Judy nodded. “Alright,” she said, “Let’s do it.”


	26. 01010100/01110111/01101110/01110100/01111001/01110011/01111000

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> one week later

     It’s an odd thing to look in a mirror and to see a different person staring back at you.

     For Judy, it was her sister; her muzzle was a light shade of brown, which faded into a sandy ochre in her cheeks and forehead. Her eyes were brown, now, too--contact lenses worked wonders. She straightened the loose and flowy three-quarter cardigan to better fit her shoulders, her t-shirt tucked into the fashionably frumpy prairie skirt she was wearing. She took a moment to smooth it out, examining herself carefully in the mirror that had been brought into the room.

     “Alright, bring in the photographers, the model’s ready…”

     Judy snorted and rolled her eyes. “Shut up,” she said, “Hand me the glasses.”

     Nick held them out to her, over her shoulder. She carefully placed the plastic and wireframe glasses over her nose and against the sides of her head. She let her paws fall to her sides as she stared at her reflection.

     “...This is _weird_ …”

     “It’s good,” Nick said. “You look totally different.”

     Judy smirked and turned to him. “Oh,” she said, _“I_ look different, huh…?”

     Nick had completely transformed as well. Judy was not the only one to change her fur pattern; instead of the regular orange-furred fox Judy was used to seeing, a much more refined gray fox stood in his place. Salt and pepper airbrushing put a distinct mask on Nick’s face, as well as his visible paw. Also, his physique had been altered; he was now sporting a small but noticeable gut from his sleek and well-tailored suit, his right arm hidden inside. His right sleeve was stuffed and pinned into his pants pocket in its place. He snickered.

     “Yes. Absolutely,” he said, “100 percent. You’re the different one here, not me.”

     Judy chuckled and walked back to the table and sat in one of the chairs, piles of papers spread in front of it. The smaller office they were in was an old chief’s office that had transformed into somewhat of a miniature conference room. Judy took a seat.

_“Ava Cottontail,”_ she read from one page. “I still can’t get over that name, it sounds so fake…”

     “...And what, ‘Judy Hopps’ doesn’t fit that criteria?”

     “Uh, _hey,_ ” Judy said, eyeing Nick playfully, “Watch it, fatso.”

     “Aw, so low?”

     The door clicked open. In the doorframe stood Jack. He still wore a nice and fitted suit with a tie, just as usual. However, his signature stripes had been completely erased, leaving various shades of gray that blended into the rest of his fur pattern. He just looked like a normal, brown-eyed, gray-furred rabbit.

     “Hi,” he said, “How are things in here?”

     “Good,” Nick said, “What time is it?”

     “It’s 9:07,” Jack said, glancing at his watch, “Train leaves at 10:00 p.m.”

     “Alright,” Nick said. “There’s like...one or two more things I gotta throw in my bag, but, uh, besides that…”

     “Great,” Jack said, “You both know where you’re starting from, and how you’re getting to the station?”

     “Yeah,” Judy said, “Don’t worry, we went over it.”

     “...Alright,” Jack said, “Good. I’ll, um...I’ll go check on Honey’s progress…”

     Jack turned around and lightly closed the door behind him. Judy turned back to the papers spread across the table and began to gather them. Nick walked over to the wall and grabbed a small roller bag.

     “Are you ready for this?”

     Judy sighed. “...Yeah,” she said, scanning her profile, “Ready as I’ll ever be…”

     “Hey,” said Nick, “Can you grab that little plastic bag over there for me?”

     Judy looked at the end of the table where Nick was pointing. She stood up and reached across.

     “Sure,” she said, picking it up, “What’s in it?”

     “It’s just my meds,” Nick said, lifting his bag to the table.

     As Nick carved open his bag and began to dig through it, Judy pulled the plastic bag closer to her and peered inside. Surprisingly, there were _three_ pill bottles inside--as opposed to only one--and even more surprising, they were all seemingly doctor prescribed. She lowered the bag down to the table and carefully reached in. She pulled out the first canister and began to read the label quietly to herself.

_Nicholas P. Wilde. Consume single tablet orally twice a day for shoulder pain. Contact doctor if pain does not improve or worsens. Codeine. 30 mg._

     “...shit, where did I…”

     “Huh?”

     “I’m looking for my phone charger,” Nick said, his face still in his suitcase, “I thought it was in here, but I...I can’t seem to find it…”

     Judy replaced the bottle and picked another one from the bag. She rotated the label to face her.

     “Have you seen it?”

     “No, I-I haven’t…”

_Nicholas P. Wilde. Consume single tablet orally before bedtime. Temazepam. 7.5 mg._

     ...An insomnia medication?

     “Are you sure?”

     “...Huh? No, yeah, I haven’t seen it…”

     Since when did Nick struggle with insomnia? How come Judy had never seen him use these? She never remembered him taking out pill bottles before they went to sleep. Did he just not take it whenever he slept over?

     ...Actually...now that Judy thought about it, Nick did always take a stop in her bathroom before he ever hit the bed. There was a distinct pattern he always went through, one that Judy had begun to recognize after a while: rustle of a bag, tap water, silence...rustle of a bag...then out he came.

     “Maybe I’ve got it in my…”

     Judy put the bottle back in the bag. She reached in and carefully pulled out the third.

_Nicholas P. Wilde. Take 2 tablets daily. Contact doctor if flashbacks do not improve or worsen. Proz_

     The bottle was ripped from her fingers. Judy gasped and looked up.

     Nick held the bottle in his paw, his knuckles bulging. He was staring at Judy hard. He glanced down at the label and then looked back up at her. He swallowed and looked away.

     “...That’s, uh...that’s mine too…”

     Nick quickly dropped the bottle in the bag, then plucked it from the table and placed it in his suitcase. He quietly zipped it up. Judy watched dumbly as he lifted the bag from the table and placed it on the ground. He extended the handle, tilted the suitcase with his foot, then began to walk it towards the door.

     Suddenly, he stopped. Nick patted his side down with his hand, and he came to a stop over his chest. He reached in his jacket and pulled out a white cord. He let out a gust of air.

     “Oh,” he said casually, “There it is.”

     Nick carefully placed the cord on top of his suitcase, unzipped the top of it, then dropped it inside, without once looking back at Judy. He zipped it back up and popped open the door.

     “See you in 16 hours.”

     Nick grabbed the suitcase and walked out.

     Judy sat in silence, looking at the empty doorway.

* * *

     “I heard in first class they got TVs.”

     Judy looked up at Honey. She was propped up on her bed, her wire rim glasses still sitting on her nose. Her muzzle and eyebrows had been grayed out, giving her a much older look. They both rocked softly along with the train.

     “Yeah?”

     “Yeah,” she continued, struggling with the plastic packaging of a mini roll of donuts, “I mean, that’s what I heard, at least…”

     “...Oh...well, uh...you know, _unfortunately_ ,” Judy said, “We wouldn’t be the ones to _purchase_ first class, so…”

     “Ugh,” Honey grumbled to herself, “What the fuck, dude, the boys get it and we don’t? Why couldn’t _I_ be one of the tech lawyer people or whatever they...tell you what, that’s fuckin’...sexism, or whatever, right there...”

     The plastic popped open. Honey reached in and stuffed a donut in her mouth. Judy’s toes turned tiny circles in the air, floating just above the rocking floor beneath her. She lifted her paws from the mattress behind her and propped her elbows up on her knees, resting her chin in her paws. Her mind began to wander as she gazed into the floor, losing focus.

     “Wah wahn?”

     Judy looked up. Honey, her mouth still full, held her arm across the cabin to her, a donut in her paw. Judy let out a gust of air.

     “I’m fine, thanks…”

     Her eyes slowly floated back down to the floor. Honey shrugged.

     “Okay.”

     She swallowed and popped the next donut in her mouth. She shifted her posture to lie back further on the bed.

     “You know, being senile is _fun,_ ” Honey babbled, staring at the ceiling, “Like, when you guys first told me about this... _character_ , or whatever--I don’t know if that’s what you call it, a character’s more like a play or a movie or somethin’--anyways, when you guys first told me I’d be dressing up as a fuckin’ eighty-year-old...I wanted to actually skin you. Like, all three of you. Consecutively. But, like, now that we’re, like, _here,_ and like, actually _doing_ it...it’s like, ‘holy shit, this isn't so bad’, you know?”

     There was a silence. Judy stared at the ground, completely unresponsive. She heard Honey’s bedsprings creak. There was a beat.

     “Jesus,” Honey said, “What’s eatin’ _you_ , man? _”_

     Judy swallowed and rubbed her eyes.

     “Sorry, I’m--it’s nothing, I just--um--a little...anxious about the--the _extraction_ , is all…”

     The muffled rumbling of the wheels below them filled the air for a while. Honey cleared her throat.

     “...Alright,” she said, “Wanna try that again?”

     Judy looked up at Honey. Honey gave her a knowing look. Judy sighed and let her paws fall into her lap.

     “...Sorry, I just...ugh,” Judy groaned, her head tilting back, “...I think...I, uh...I kinda screwed up…”

     There was a pause.

     “...Uh...okay?" said Honey. "Wanna be a little more specific?”

     “Earlier,” Judy said. “Today. With, um...with _Nick_ …”

     “...Ohhhhh, okay, and you’re overthinking it because of the whole mutual pining thing--”

     “What? No. No, i-it’s not that--”

     “Are you sure? Cuz, look, like, you don’t have be afraid to talk to me about it--”

     “No, that’s--that’s _not_ what I’m worried about,” Judy said firmly, rubbing the back of her head. She sighed. “I just...I was helping him pack before we left, and...and, you know, he told me to grab a bag on the table and hand it to him, and, I looked inside, and…”

     “...and what? C’mon, you can’t leave me hangin’ here, my mind’s immediately gonna jump to _pornomags_ or something--”

     “No, _no_ , it was--it was _nothing_ like that,” Judy said hoarsely, “It was, just...well, I...it--it was his _meds_ …”

     “...Okay?” Honey said, “And what, did you find, like, _Nip_ in there or something?”

     “Honey--”

     “Sorry, I just--my thought process, that’s what it is, I bridge the gaps, what--what did you find in there?”

     “Well, I mean, I...I _found_ his _meds_ ,” Judy stated matter-of-factly, “It just...he saw me reading them, and, you know...I guess he just _really_ didn’t want me to see them, the way he reacted, and...I just feel like I kinda...I dunno...invaded his privacy…”

     “...Well...I mean,” Honey said, “I don’t know what--oh, you know what, I know what he was probably tryin’ to hide, okay.”

     “Well, yeah, I...I found, um...his...you know...his _antidepressants,_ ” Judy said carefully. “And, I mean, it’s not a big deal, it’s a really common thing, lots of mammals take antidepressants...I mean, _I_ took antidepressants, in, in high school, so I know what it’s like, but...he just...reacted really...I don’t know, _intensely_ to it…”

     “Yeah...” Honey said, “I mean, it’s a part of his life that he doesn’t really like to talk about...it’s that whole anti-vulnerability complex he struggles with, you know?”

     “I...yeah, I...I get it…”

     “I mean, it’s kinda frustrating,” Honey said, “Like, he never asks for help with it, you know? Like, ever. Even when he starts with the, uh, the _episodes_ , or whatever--”

     Judy’s ears perked up. She sat up further on her bed. “Do you...do you mean _flashbacks_?” she asked.

     “...Oh, yeah, that’s what they’re called...yeah, that’s the word, they aren’t even really ‘ _episodes_ ’, really…”

     “Okay, y--that’s...that’s the part that confused me,” Judy said, “Does he...what did it mean by ‘flashbacks’, that doesn’t…”

     Honey turned her head to her, silent. A frown began to bleed into her face.

     “...Oh,” she said, “He--he really hasn’t told you at _all,_ has he?”

     “...What do you mean...?”

     Honey let out a sigh and looked back up at the ceiling for a moment. She laid there for a moment in silence.

     “Okay,” she said, “Alright, lemme...okay. When, uh--and Nick told me this, that’s how I know about this--but, anyways, when Nick was, like...I dunno, nine, or twelve, or something...he went to go join this, sorta...cub scout group, or something--”

     “The Junior Ra--yeah, I-I know this story,” Judy said, “He’s told it to me.”

     “Oh, so--so then you know about it already,” Honey said, “I...don’t really--what're you confused about, then--”

     “Well, I--wait, I--I think I’m missing something, here,” Judy said. “What...how did he tell it to _you?”_

     Honey furrowed her brow. “Well, I mean,” she said, “I-I’m trying to remember all of the details, but uh...he showed up to the meeting, the initiation, and...you know, they tackled him, put the muzzle on him, held him down...started whalin’ on ‘im, and all that…”

     “...What...what do you mean?”

     “Well...you know,” Honey said, “They took turns punching and kicking him, in different places...cussin’ him out and stuff, calling him names, racial slurs, all that...sounded _horrible_ the way he described it to me...and, uh...apparently, you know, two fractured ribs and a concussion later…”

_“What?”_

     “No, yeah, it was bad,” Honey said, “I’m tellin’ you, they like...they _really_ fucked him up...and, uh...you know, in--in more ways than one.”

     Judy stared at Honey, dumbfounded. Honey set the donuts on the counter next to the bed.

     “From then on out,” Honey continued, “He started having these...these crazy nightmares, you know, of these kids just beatin’ the shit out of him, ripping his head off...ripping his _mom's_  head off...and, meanwhile, in the daytime, his mom watched him live in this kinda fog, you know and...then his grades tanked, and his social life tanked, and he was constantly...I dunno, _anxious,_  or something, all the time...I think that's how he described it...they first thought it was brain damage, from the concussion, but they did all the MRIs and stuff, and he came out fine, so...his mom took him to a kit psychologist, and...boom. Adolescent PTSD. He’s kinda...kinda struggled with it all his life.”

     Judy could feel something in her throat. She tried to swallow past it as she held the back of her neck with both of her paws.

     “...I...I didn’t...I had no idea,” she said quietly, her voice trembling. “I had _no_ _idea_ that it was that bad…”

     “Yeah,” Honey said, “It’s pretty fucked up...but I mean, hey, we’re all kinda fucked up one way or another, right? That’s what makes us...three-dimensional, or whatever…”

     Judy let herself sway along with the rest of the sleeper car, her mind replaying Honey’s story in her head. Honey reached into the donut bag and popped another in her mouth. She chewed casually.

     “I mean, take _me_ for instance,” Honey said, “I mean, I’ve dealt with my own shit, you know? But...here _I_ am, right…?”

     Judy’s eyes slowly looked up to Honey. She wiped her nose.

     “What do you mean?”

     Honey looked over at her, silent. She stared at Judy for a long time. Suddenly, she gave a grandiose gesture to her legs, then to the folded up wheelchair in the corner of the room.

     “What do you fuckin’ think, Flopsy?”

     “--Oh my--sorry, I--of course, I didn’t--”

     “No, it’s alright,” Honey said, “It's not--no, you know what, lemme rephrase that, that didn't really--look, I can _deal_ with that. You know? I can _deal_ with a sucky brain that gives me sucky legs, and kinda sucky fingers, doesn’t really...hinder me at all, it’s just what I’ve been given to work with, so I work with it. Haven’t known anything different. I--okay, I wasn’t actually talkin’ about me bein’ in a wheelchair, it w--that part doesn’t suck at all, it’s just...I meant, you know, what comes _with_ it…”

     Judy watched her carefully as she stuck another donut in her mouth. Her brow furrowed.

     “...I don’t...I don’t understand…”

     “...Well, I meant, other _mammals_ ,” Honey said. “Like...their whole _reaction_ towards me...like, growin’ up was hard, ‘cause...kids...kids are _cruel,_ man. Absolutely fuckin’ _evil_ . They don’t understand something, and they _demonize_ it, they hone in on it and just all collectively... _shit_ on it, together...like, dude, don’t even get me started on middle school, like…”

     “...Oh…”

     “...Yeah," Honey said. "It was...it was bad...you know, I had trouble talking at first. When I was really little? Like, I could make noises, my vocal chords were fine, but my mouth and tongue, just, didn’t really wanna work together, and I couldn’t really dictate things well...it’d come out kinda garbled and weird and stuff...and people thought I was _stupid_. Kids thought I was, fuckin’, mentally retarded, man, and they would talk about me constantly…”

     “That’s horrible...”

     “...Like, right in _front_ of me,” Honey said, staring up at the ceiling, “And I could _hear_ them! I just didn’t have quite enough mouth coordination to say ‘ _Hey,_ asshole, I’m right here’...but, obviously, you know...years of speech therapy, and it’s improved, but, you know, like, I still kub--kinda, trip over my words som--see? Like that, just then, I trip over my words if I try to go too fast…”

     “I--I never would’ve realized until you pointed it out…”

     Honey exhaled sharply through her nose. “I’m flattered,” she chuckled half-heartedly, picking up the last donut from the bag. She brought it back to herself, but after a moment, let her paw lower to her chest. “...But, you know,” she said, “After a while, it...it really starts to get to you...the bullying, the peer pressure...in high school--honestly, fuck high school, I couldn’t wait to get out of it--but, whatever, what--I...I tried to ditch my chair. I had these, you know, these kind of crutches, these little forearm crutches, that I had never used, and...I tried it, you know, for like...a week...just to get people to stop staring at me all the time, to stop the whispers constantly going on behind my back, to try and be more...more ‘ _normal’_ , whatever the fuck _that_ is, you know...and...I could _do_ it, it _worked..._ technically...but...it was just... _exhausting._ It was just _so...fucking...hard..._ ”

     Judy nodded silently. Honey sighed and rubbed her eyes.

     “Like, it was just _so_ much harder than my chair,” she said, “It made me slower, I was constantly late to class...cuz I couldn’t move my fuckin’ legs, and I knew that, but I still tried to...and...it just attracted more eyes. You know? Put an even bigger target on my head.”

     Honey pursed her lips and swallowed. She took a deep breath.

     “And uh...you know?” she said, “It...as I said, it gets to you, after a while, and...it’s--it’s a surprise I’m actually here right now, you know--”

     Honey’s voice faltered, and she took a deep, shuddery breath, before tears began to well in her eyes. Judy carefully rose from her bed.

     “Oh, _Honey…”_

     Judy knelt down next to her and placed a paw on her arm. Honey covered her eyes with a paw, silent tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.

     “There are just…” she choked, “...there are just...just some absolutely fucking _horrible_ people...ignorant, evil, _horrible_ people out there--I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m--what am I, like, _five_? I’m being ridiculous--”

     “...No,” Judy said, “Nonononono, you’re not--those are horrible things to deal with, and nobody deserves to deal with them. I--I'm sorry that you went through all of that, really...”

     “...I’m just...I’m _not...sad,_ about my body,” Honey said, “...I just... _hate_ the ways other people deal with it…”

     Judy opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She sighed and began to softly rub Honey’s arm.

     They remained there for a little while.

     Eventually, Judy--with her paw still on Honey--looked up and out the window. The scenery outside flew by, dark and blurry, the only stagnant point being the moon hanging in the sky.

     She watched it.


	27. 01010100/01110111/01101110/01110100/01111001/01110011/01110110/01101110

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> run  
> run  
> run  
> run  
> run  
> r̶̛̥̣͠u̴̯͇͂̆n̷̛̗  
> r̶̛̥̣͠u̴̯͇͂̆n̷̛̗r̶̛̥̣͠u̴̯͇͂̆n̷̛̗r̶̛̥̣͠u̴̯͇͂̆n̷̛̗r̶̛̥̣͠u̴̯͇͂̆n̷̛̗r̶̛̥̣͠u̴̯͇͂̆n̷̛̗r̶̛̥̣͠u̴̯͇͂̆n̷̛̗r̶̛̥̣͠u̴̯͇͂̆n̷̛̗r̶̛̥̣͠u̴̯͇͂̆n̷̛̗r̶̛̘͇̗͋͐͗̅̓̽̊̑̋͛̈̕ṷ̴̱͂̀͌̈́̇̋̍n̸̖̬̺̪͚̫̻̬̦̝̈́͗͗̽͐̀̓̾̐̈́̀͘͝r̶̛̘͇̗͋͐͗̅̓̽̊̑̋͛̈̕ṷ̴̱͂̀͌̈́̇̋̍n̸̖̬̺̪͚̫̻̬̦̝̈́͗͗̽͐̀̓̾̐̈́̀͘͝r̶̛̘͇̗͋͐͗̅̓̽̊̑̋͛̈̕ṷ̴̱͂̀͌̈́̇̋̍n̸̖̬̺̪͚̫̻̬̦̝̈́͗͗̽͐̀̓̾̐̈́̀͘͝  
> r̶̛̘͇̗͋͐͗̅̓̽̊̑̋͛̈̕ṷ̴̱͂̀͌̈́̇̋̍n̸̖̬̺̪͚̫̻̬̦̝̈́͗͗̽͐̀̓̾̐̈́̀͘͝r̶̛̘͇̗͋͐͗̅̓̽̊̑̋͛̈̕ṷ̴̱͂̀͌̈́̇̋̍n̸̖̬̺̪͚̫̻̬̦̝̈́͗͗̽͐̀̓̾̐̈́̀͘͝r̶̛̘͇̗͋͐͗̅̓̽̊̑̋͛̈̕ṷ̴̱͂̀͌̈́̇̋̍n̸̖̬̺̪͚̫̻̬̦̝̈́͗͗̽͐̀̓̾̐̈́̀͘͝r̶̛̘͇̗͋͐͗̅̓̽̊̑̋͛̈̕ṷ̴̱͂̀͌̈́̇̋̍n̸̖̬̺̪͚̫̻̬̦̝̈́͗͗̽͐̀̓̾̐̈́̀͘͝r̶̛̘͇̗͋͐͗̅̓̽̊̑̋͛̈̕ṷ̴̱͂̀͌̈́̇̋̍n̸̖̬̺̪͚̫̻̬̦̝̈́͗͗̽͐̀̓̾̐̈́̀͘͝r̶̛̘͇̗͋͐͗̅̓̽̊̑̋͛̈̕ṷ̴̱͂̀͌̈́̇̋̍n̸̖̬̺̪͚̫̻̬̦̝̈́͗͗̽͐̀̓̾̐̈́̀͘͝r̶̛̘͇̗͋͐͗̅̓̽̊̑̋͛̈̕ṷ̴̱͂̀͌̈́̇̋̍n̸̖̬̺̪͚̫̻̬̦̝̈́͗͗̽͐̀̓̾̐̈́̀͘͝r̶̛̘͇̗͋͐͗̅̓̽̊̑̋͛̈̕ṷ̴̱͂̀͌̈́̇̋̍n̸̖̬̺̪͚̫̻̬̦̝̈́͗͗̽͐̀̓̾̐̈́̀͘͝r̶̛̘͇̗͋͐͗̅̓̽̊̑̋͛̈̕ṷ̴̱͂̀͌̈́̇̋̍n̸̖̬̺̪͚̫̻̬̦̝̈́͗͗̽͐̀̓̾̐̈́̀͘͝r̶̛̘͇̗͋͐͗̅̓̽̊̑̋͛̈̕ṷ̴̱͂̀͌̈́̇̋̍n̸̖̬̺̪͚̫̻̬̦̝̈́͗͗̽͐̀̓̾̐̈́̀͘͝

     “I got some coffee.”

     Nick jolted awake. He clamped his eyes shut and scrunched them up, watching the colors and patterns dance on the back of his eyelids. His eyes slowly opened to reveal a yellow ceiling. He took a deep inhale through his nose and he quickly began to scan his surroundings.

     He was in a bed. It was moving. To the left was a wall. There was a door towards his feet and to the right. There was a small sink with a mirror mounted above it. An empty bed to the right. Over his shoulder was…

     A rabbit. With coffee cups.

     He was on the train. The rabbit was Jack. 

     Things were starting to make sense now.

     “...Oh,” Nick managed to mumble, “...Thanks…”

     He brought his paw to his eyes and rubbed them carefully. Jack stood silently by the side of the bed, waiting. Neither of them moved for a little while, wading in the silence.

     Jack’s eyes quietly darted away from Nick, then back to him. 

     Jack reached over and gingerly placed the coffee on the bedside counter. He walked over to the window--currently covered with blinds--and pressed a button on the wall, causing the blinds to slowly inch upwards. Nick groaned and rolled onto his side, shielding himself from the approaching sunlight.

     “...We should get up…”

     “I know,” Nick grumbled, “I know, just...lemme…”

     Nick pinched the bridge of his nose. Jack carefully took a seat at the table underneath the window, placing his coffee in front of him. Nick rolled onto his back, his paw still on his muzzle. He grumbled.

     “...What time is it…”

     “9:30.”

     “...Oh god,” Nick said, “Really?”

     “Yes.”

     “...Jesus…” he said, pushing himself up, “I haven’t slept this late in years…”

     Nick swiveled around and let his feet drop off the edge of the bed. He let out a long yawn, squinting his eyes closed. He took another moment to get his bearings. With a stifled grunt, he placed his feet on the ground and began to walk towards the closet, trying to keep his balance with the slowly rocking train. Jack eyed him absentmindedly, taking a sip from his coffee.

     Nick slid the closet door open. He stared emptily at the suit hanging inside, a hollowed out belly rig sitting on the top shelf. Jack glanced at it. He did a double take. He carefully lowered his coffee to the table.

     “Did--did I really get you an English Cut?”

     Nick looked at him. There was a beat.

     “Huh?”

     “Your suit,” Jack said, “Did I...should’ve gotten you an American Cut, that would’ve been more fitting…”

     “...What are you talking about?”

     “The suit.”

     Nick looked at it. He glanced back at Jack, still processing.

     “...What about it?”

     “The cut of it,” he said, “The way it was tailored. The--I should’ve gotten a different kind for you, ‘cause you wouldn’t wear the kind that you have now...I mean--it’s, it’s not that big of a deal, I’m just...a little disappointed in myself for not catching that earlier…”

     Nick stared. He placed his free hand on his hip.

     “Where did you learn all that stuff?” he asked.

     Jack swallowed. “Part of what I learned over the years,” he said, “How to dress yourself, all that…”

     “...What, back--back at your  _ secret agent _ school, they taught you how to make suits?”

     Jack chuckled to himself. He sighed and shook his head.

     “No,” he said. “Not--not how to  _ make _ them, no...just...how to  _ wear _ them, that’s all…”

     Nick chuckled under his breath. He turned back towards the closet and reached for the belly rig.

     “Is there breakfast somewhere?”

     “Yes,” Jack said, “The dining car.”

     “...Oh,” Nick said, “...Well...how do we make sure we don’t run into…”

     “They’re in Priority Class,” Jack said, “They have their own. We won’t see them.”

* * *

     “How’s the oatmeal?”

     Honey gingerly lead another spoonful to her mouth, clearly exhibiting maximum effort against spilling it all over the table. She opened her mouth slowly, centimeter by centimeter, and carefully sledged it in. She was almost  _ too _ in character. She swallowed, raised her napkin, and patted her mouth weakly.

     “...Could use some more sugar,” she rasped.

     “More sugar?”

     “Yes.”

     Judy nodded. She reached across the table to the small container holding sugar packets, next to the salt and pepper. She plucked one from it and tore it open. Very carefully, she reached over to Honey’s bowl and began to empty the contents. Suddenly, Honey swatted at her.

     “Too much,” she rasped angrily, “That’s too much, I don’t want that much, that’s--”

     “Okay, okay...”

     Judy placed the half empty packet in the saucer below Honey’s bowl. She quietly straightened her glasses and picked up her fork, resuming her fruit bowl. As she ate, she scanned the rest of the car, only to have her eyes briefly meet with multiple concerned or annoyed passengers at other tables. She mouthed an embarrased apology. 

     Honey set her spoon back down on the saucer. “See,” she said, “Now it’s too sweet, I don’t want it…”

     “I’m sorry,” Judy said, “We can get you another bowl--”

     “No, I don’t want another bowl,” Honey said firmly, “It’s fine…”

     Judy sighed and looked down into her bowl. She could feel the eyes plastered on them. The goal of going undercover was to blend in, not stand out. 

     She looked back up at Honey, heavily. 

     Honey’s eyes came up to meet hers. 

     Judy discreetly mimed to take it down a notch, pushing her palm down towards the table. Honey’s eyes darted about the room, and she quickly returned a stifled shrug. 

     Judy breathed deeply through her nose and began to toy at some cantaloupe with her fork.

     “...Your kids are gonna be really happy to see you,” she said. “Happy you could get out of Grey Gardens, so they didn’t have to get train tickets.”

     “...That’s ‘cause they’re lazy,” Honey grumbled into her oatmeal, spitefully taking another spoonful, “Don’t wanna do anything, not even come out to Zootopia to see me. Shows how grateful  _ they _ are.”

     “...Well, but, they’re  _ busy _ ,” Judy said, “Right? I mean, they’ve got careers, families, all sorts of things. It’s hard for them to make enough time to come and visit you. Don’t you think?”

     “I think if they really  _ cared _ ,” Honey said, “They’d  _ make _ time. I’m their  _ mother _ .”

     “I think you’re being a little unfair towards them,” said Judy. “They do a lot for you. You know?”

     “...All  _ they’ve _ done so far is hired a rabbit to take care of me...”

     Judy sighed. She swallowed carefully. “Ms. Strype, you say that like it’s a bad thing.”

     Honey stared into her oatmeal, unresponsive. Judy shook her head and went back to toying with the cantaloupe.

     “Anyways,” she said, “I think your son appreciates that you’ll be able to make it to the wedding. It means a great deal to him.”

     She picked at her food some more. 

     The sounds of the dining car filtered through her ears for a little while. The silverware clinking against plates, the quiet conversations, the muffled and repetitive rumbling beneath them...it was nice.

     Another sound rose to the surface above them.

     Judy’s eyes slowly panned up to Honey. 

     Honey was still staring into her oatmeal, her eyes wide. Her chest was heaving heavily. Judy looked down to see her paw clenched tightly to the tablecloth. Judy swallowed.

_      “...What?”  _ she whispered.  _ “What is it?” _

     Honey swallowed, with much effort.  _ “I’m... _ fuck _ ,”  _ she breathed quietly,  _ “...I’m--about to have a seizure.” _

_      “...You’re  _ what _?” _

_      “Godammit, I’m--fuck, I’m such a fucking idiot--take me back to the room.” _

_      “What?” _

     “The room,” Honey rasped, “Take me back to the room, take me--”

     Honey’s shoulders suddenly tensed up, and her eyes snapped shut, her brow furrowing in agony. She clenched her teeth and inhaled, hard. She let out a low groan, her head tipping back towards the ceiling. 

     Judy leapt from her seat. 

     She quickly slid around the table and grabbed Honey’s chair. She pulled it out from the table and steered it into the center of the hallway running down the middle of the car. She pushed quickly towards the cabin car, ignoring the concerned looks and confused gasps coming from the other passengers. As she pushed, other mammals quickly stepped out of their path, letting them fly through. 

     An oblivious pig suddenly stood up from his table, his back facing Judy. Their shoulders collided violently.

     “Oh my God! I am so--”

     A hoof apologetically patted Judy’s shoulder and

     “It’s alright, don’t worry--”

     Judy kept going, not once looking back at the pig.

     The unit pushed through another car, quickly approaching their room. Judy glanced down at Honey. Her empty eyes gazed ahead, her paws clamped tightly to the armrests. Judy took a deep breath, looked up, and pushed faster.

     Finally, they reached the cabin car. Judy steered up next to the second room on the right and stopped. She threw open the sliding door, grabbed the chair, and dragged Honey inside. She placed her in the center of the room, turned back to the door, and slammed it shut. She quickly lowered the blinds.

     Honey sat tiredly in her chair, still breathing heavily. Her brow furrowed, her eyes clamping shut.

     “...Okay,” she wheezed, “Okay...gimme a minute…”

     Judy stared at Honey anxiously, her back pressed against the door. Honey let her head fall forward, and she held up a paw.

     “What’s going on--”

     “Don’t--don’t talk right now,” she said, “I’m... _ whoof _ ...I’m comin’ back down, hold on…”

     Honey took a couple slow, deep breaths. Judy quietly lifted her back from the door and took a cautious step forward. Honey raised her paws to her face and meditatively rubbed it for a moment, sighing heavily. 

     They stayed frozen in silence.

     “...Okay,” Honey breathed quietly, “Okay…”

     Honey let her paws fall into her lap. She looked at Judy tiredly.

     “Lemme explain…”

     “...What  _ was _ that--”

     “I’m an idiot,” Honey said, “That’s what that was, I’m a fuckin’...just lemme…”

     Honey brought a paw to her temple and began to slowly rub it. She sighed.

     “...I...I have seizures,” she said, “Occasionally. I used to get ‘em pretty often, but then I went on meds for it, and they went down by, like...a lot. I haven’t had one in, like...a while. They’re triggered by different things...sometimes, you know, flashing lights, but I’m usually pretty okay with those--I usually just get ‘em when I don’t get enough sleep or when I get super stressed. But, that being said, what triggered  _ this _ one...probably...was me going  _ off _ the meds; I haven’t had them since we left St. B’s, because I forgot to pick them up as we were leaving. That’s where they are right  _ now _ , so... _ we _ can’t get them.”

     Judy swallowed. Honey gave a resigned shrug.

     “That’s, uh...that’s why I’m an idiot,” Honey said. “This is, just...something we’ll have to deal with going forward, I guess.”

     “What...are you alright?” Judy said, “It sounded like you were in pain, did it--”

     “Yeah, I--I was,” Honey said, “But it was just...my brain goin’ all wonky. Like, I get ‘em in the  _ back _ of my brain, so it fucks with a lot of stuff, like...I see weird flashes and blobs of light, I...I get pains in my stomach, and my chest, and--but that’s just ‘cause the pain receptors in my brain are firing off, nothing’s actually happening there, it’s a fake response...”

     “...Oh…”

     “Yeah...also, my skin gets all tingly, and...I get really confused sometimes...”

     Judy frowned. “That’s...that’s horrible...”

     “Yeah,” Honey said. “I, uh...yeah...”

* * *

     “...Anyways,  _ that’s _ why I’m a little concerned about the Bearis deal.”

     Nick nodded carefully, casually swirling his glass of water in his paw. He and Jack had been out in the open for about ten minutes now, and he still had absolutely  _ no idea  _ what they were talking about. He really should have brushed up on his legal jargon before getting on this train, or at  _ least _ before venturing into the first class dining car for breakfast. He was a detective, not a tech licensing contractor.

     “Okay. I understand,” he lied, placing the glass back on the table, “But, I mean, in all due respect, if you look at the contract that we have laid out for them--”

     “It--no, but, that’s what I’m  _ worried _ about, though,” Jack interrupted, “This thing’s all over the map, there--there aren’t any set salaries, the agreements are all one sided, there’s--there are hidden liabilities  _ everywhere _ …”

     A nicely groomed timberwolf wearing a maroon vest and a mustard yellow tie approached them, pulling the notepad from one of his pockets in the black half apron tied around his waist. He quickly plucked a pen from his breast pocket, barely knicking his gold-plated name tag sitting below it. He looked at the two of them expectantly.

     “Alright, gentlemen,” he said, “Are we ready?”

     “...Uh, just about,” Nick said, glancing back down at the menu in front of him, “Kev, why don’t you go first?”

     “...Alright,” Jack said, lifting the menu from the table. “I’ll take...the  _ Lemongrass French Toast, _ please, with the, um... _ Grasshopper Anglaise _ on the side, please, if you would.”

     “Mmhm, no problem,” the waiter said, scribbling on his pad. He looked up at Nick. “And  _ you, _ sir?”

     “Well, let’s see,” Nick said, scanning the menu, “I’ll get--how about the  _ Blueberry Pancakes, _ yeah? You can leave off the whipped cream, though.”

     “...no whipped cream...got it,” said the waiter, giving a final stroke of his pen. “Let me know if you fellas need anything else.”

     “Alright.”

     “Thanks.”

     The wolf picked up the menus and walked off. Jack pat himself down, distracted.

     “...Have you got a pen?” he asked. “I wanna go back to that contract for a sec, I think I know how we can…”

     “Uhh... _ actually _ ,” Nick said, “I think I  _ do _ , hold on…”

     Nick reached into his jacket. His paw brushed past the cold metal of the concealed pistol resting on his right breast, sitting comfortably in its harness. He felt around the internal pocket of his jacket, and his fingers touched plastic. He pulled the pen out and presented it to Jack.

     “...Thanks...now, here, lemme just…”

     Jack took one of the spare paper coasters and slid it in front of him. He went to work with his pen, writing something.

     “I think,” he said, “We can clear up a  _ large _ chunk of our problems, if we retire our current preamble and replace it with something like  _ this _ …”

     Jack turned the coaster around and pushed it towards Nick. His paw rested to the side of it, almost blocking the view. Nick glanced down at it.

_      2 wolves. white blazer and brown leather jacket. eyeing us down this whole time. _

     Nick looked back up at Jack. Jack was staring at him expectantly.

     “...Something like that,” he said. “Does that make sense?”

     Nick leaned back in his chair slowly. He carefully drummed his fingers on the table.

     “...Yeah,” he said calmly. “Yeah, that...that makes sense...I--I think that would clear a lot of things up--”

     “It puts everything out in the open, right at the beginning--”

     “Exactly, that’s--you know what? Maybe we can--hold on…”

     Nick picked up the pen and wrote underneath Jack’s message. He tried to make it as neat as he could; he was right-handed, and writing was proving to be very difficult. He placed the pen back on the table. He passed the coaster back to Jack. 

_      okay. what do we do? _

     Nick glanced in his water glass. In the reflection, he saw the warped image of an ashy timberwolf in a distressed leather jacket, toying with his food uninterestedly. His eyes were glued to the back of Nick’s head. 

     “Yeah,” Jack said, “I like that wording better.”

     “Yeah?”

     “It’s more concise.”

     “I think so too,” Nick said, “How do you think we tie it back into what we have laid out already?”

     Jack picked up the pen. “Well,” he said, “I think--and I’m just doing this off of my memory of the drafts you sent me, it may not go entirely with what we have--I think we connect it like  _ this _ …”

     Jack quickly scribbled on the coaster. Nick glanced at the table across from them. Sitting calmly in the chair, with his legs crossed, was an arctic wolf in a white sports jacket, reading the menu silently. Over his eyes sat black sunglasses. The sun shined through them, showing his eyes pinned sternly on Jack. 

     Jack turned the coaster back around to Nick, once again blocking the note from the side. 

_      stay here. i will see if he follows. if i’m not back in 5, come get me. _

     Nick swallowed. “...Are you--are you sure?”

     “Yeah,” Jack said, “Do you--what, what are you thinking--”

     “I--I think it’s a little  _ rushed _ ,” Nick said, “I think we should flesh it out a little more--”

     “Well, I mean,  _ obviously _ , we’re just brainstorming here,” Jack said, “However, I think this is the sort of  _ bones _ of it, and we can keep building it from there.”

     “...You think so?”

     “Yeah,” said Jack. “And, I mean, if it doesn’t work, we’ll come up with something else. No big deal.”

     Nick nodded carefully. “Okay,” he said.

     Jack folded up the coaster and slid it into his jacket. “Alright,” he said, “I like the sound of it. We can continue to work on it later.”

     “Alright. That, uh...that sounds good.”

     Jack took his napkin from his lap and gently placed it on the table. “We can come back to this,” he said, “But I’ve gotta go to the bathroom real quick, I’ll be right back…”

     Jack stood up from his chair and stepped into the walkway. He walked past Nick and stepped into the next car. 

     Nick sat in silence. He pulled out his phone and flashed the homescreen. The clock read 10:18. 

     He glanced back into his glass. The wolf in the leather jacket looked over his shoulder to the doorway next to him, where Jack had passed through. 

     He glanced around casually, his leg bouncing. 

     He stood up, then followed him out.


	28. RHlsYW4ncyBMYXB0b3A=

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> your turn

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

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> life has been busy. but i'm back
> 
> and more things are coming
> 
>  
> 
> -JCP
> 
> p.s.  
> if you can't crack it, this is all i'm giving you: Base64


	29. 01010100/01110111/01101110/01110100/01111001/00111000

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> r̴̛̭̞̽̉ụ̷̈́͋ṇ̷̮̘͜͠ ̸̖͎͇̗̈́ȑ̶̛̙̯̔u̴̡̼͎̹̾̓͌n̵̗̩̙̣̒ ̴̤̰͉̿̔͐͘r̶̡͌̎ù̵̗̫̗͇͗̉͝n̸͉̈͌ ̵̳̩̼͛  
> ̷̱̑r̵͇̰͕̜͑̉ų̷̮̙̙͆͘̚n̴̺̝̙̈̌ ̸͔͔̎̓ŗ̶͈̹̪͗̉͗́ŭ̵͙̞͉́ǹ̵̥̹̞̫̽ ̷͎̇̑̿͘r̴̢̛͉͈̪͘ư̵͉̖̲̟̄̽̑n̷̨͖̝̆  
> r̵͉̝̲̟̻͕̗̀̒̿́̆̉̓͜͠ͅű̵̧͍͇͓̘͈̮̫͗̏̔̾̾̇̋̕͠ͅn̵̪̣͇̩̬̺̣̍̇̎̋͊̍̑ ̸̨̥͓͎͖̔̀̀͑͝r̷̨͍̝̆̆͋̾̊û̷̜͕̯ṉ̵͉̈́͌̂̆̏ ̸̱̖͖̜̝͖̈́̂͋̿̎̂͗r̵̺̊̆̑̈́͂ǔ̵̧̙̗̪̟̭̳̩͉͎̲̋̒͒̚͜͝͝͠n̴̢̢̤͕͕͉̱̯̓͆̔̅́̒͠ ̵̢͔̫̘̗̳͖͉̼̈̄̆͑̂̋͝  
> ̶̧̡̮̻͍̫̇̾̉̒̀̓͋͜r̴͉̘̣͍͔͋̐́̊͘̕͘̕u̷̪̺̞͆̎̂̉̑̂̀͝͝͝͠͝n̶̢͓̞̯̺̪̑̏̓̈́̅͘ ̵̲̼̭͐͐̈͂͋̆̉͂ŗ̶̥̭̯͚̲̔̉̋̔̏̊̈͑̓̚͝ủ̵̦͇͙͎͕͍̃̒̀̌̔̋̾̀̄ņ̴̬̝̪͖̜͕̲̞̑̈́̅͐̔́͑͆ͅ ̸̢̢̖͔͚̘̻̝̖̘̻͔͋̅͌́̀͑̂̏̑̎̐r̷̜̓͆û̵̬̌̍͊̈́̌̽̆̾n̷̻͎̝͓̗̞̦͍̗͖̯̂͘

     The sky was cloudy and overcast. 

     The quad was empty, for the most part. There were still some other students, some tenth and twelfth years, milling about; talking to each other, reading, studying, and doing other things of the like.

     Jack was too preoccupied to notice.

     He could feel the cold concrete stairs pressing up against his feet and his legs. His elbows rested on his knees, his trembling paws clasped together. Silent tears fell from his cheeks and onto the stairs beneath him. It almost made him angrier, the fact that he was crying like this. It didn’t feel good, and it made him feel small and powerless. 

     Jack hated crying.

     He heard footsteps running towards him. They slowed down and came to a stop a couple feet behind him.

     There was a silence.

     Maybe if Jack just pretended she wasn’t there, she would just go away.

     The footsteps walked carefully around him and came up on his left side. 

     No. She wasn’t going away.

     Skye very cautiously sat down next to Jack on the steps. Jack kept his eyes glued to the ground.

     Skye took a deep breath.

     “Jack...can--can I touch you?”

     Jack continued to stare down at the ground. There was a tear on his cheek that had rolled down to his mouth, and it was bothering him, but he refused to move. He heard Skye swallow.

     “Jack?”

     Jack gave a very small, very brief shake of his head. Skye sighed.

     “Alright.”

     Jack wiped his nose and sniffled. He could feel Skye looking at him, and he hated it. He hated everything. He hated the tears, he hated the concrete, he hated school, he hated--

     “We weren’t the only ones,” Skye said gently, “You know that, right? They did this to everyone. They--Jordan and Eric. Those two have been inseparable since they were ten years old, and  _ they _ were paired together. That’s...that’s part of it. They did this on purpose…they did it to  _ all _ of us.”

     Jack swallowed forcefully past the blockade in his throat. He let his head fall, and he brought his paws up to cradle the back of his head.

     “There was no way for us to escape this.”

     Jack sniffled and cleared his throat. “M--maybe if--if we had just…”

     “What?” Skye asked. “If we had _what_ , Jack?”

     Jack was silent.

     “Would you have really wanted to do that?”

     “ _ No _ .”

  
  
  
  


     It was silent for a while.

  
  
  
  


     Skye sighed.

     “Jack...can I see your eyes, please?”

     Jack brought his head up and stared out at the quad. He wiped his nose again and sighed heavily.

     “Please?”

     Jack placed a gentle paw on Skye’s thigh. She let out a gust of air and nodded. He brought the heel of his other paw up and gingerly wiped his eyes. He then, very apprehensively, turned his head to look at Skye.

     Her face was awash with agony. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her brow was knit with dread. There were wet streaks in her fur where tears had already fallen, leading down to her mouth, which was trying its absolute best to form into a smile. 

     “... _ Listen _ ,” Skye said, her voice trembling. “...I’m scared too. I...I’m absolutely  _ terrified. _ ..but...it’s going to be okay. It’s just...it’s just a sparring match, and it will be hard in the moment, because...we would never,  _ ever _ fight each other like that, but...it’ll be over after ten minutes. And we’ll be fine. Okay?”

     Skye very gently placed her paw over Jack’s. In the far distance, Jack could hear a storm approaching. He looked back up at Skye.

     “Okay?”

 

_      There  _

  
  
  


_                             was _

  
  
  
  
  


_                                                                       a _

  
  
  
  
  
  


_                                                                                                                                                            rolling _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_                                                                        of _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_                                                                                                        t _

  
  
  


_                                                                                                                           h _

  
  
  
  
  


_                                                                                                                                       u _

  
  
  
  
  


_                                                                                                                                                           n _

  
  
  
  


_                                                                                                                                                                                  d _

  
  
  
  
  


_                                                                                                                                                                                          e _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_                                                                                                                                                                                                            r _

  
  
  


* * *

     The rolling thunder of the tracks rumbled underneath his feet, and Jack held onto the sink to keep himself steady. He stared at himself in the mirror, the tissue pressed up against his nose now crimson with blood.

     The timberwolf in the leather jacket lay slumped against the toilet, unconscious. There was a trail of blood trickling from the cut in his forehead, and there was still some residual blood left on the wall and on the toilet seat. The switchblade lying mere inches from the wolf’s limp paw was rocking back and forth gently with the rhythm of the train.

     Jack pulled the tissue away from his nose and tipped his chin upwards, inspecting himself in the mirror. It looked like the bleeding had stopped for the most part. He wadded it up and tossed it in the trash bin. He picked annoyedly at the small but noticeable gash in the outermost layer of his suit jacket, right near his ribcage. He yanked away a stray thread and pocketed it. He walked over to the wolf, bent down, picked up the switchblade, closed it, then put it into his internal breast pocket. 

     Jack turned around and walked to the door.

* * *

     Judy placed the water bottle underneath her arm, the second dangling from her hand. With her free hand, she grabbed the handle of the cabin door and slid it open.

     “Hey, I’ve got the…”

     Honey was asleep. She had managed to plop herself onto her bed, and she was now completely swaddled in the blankets, her clothes from this morning still peeking out from the top. She had her computer open on her lap, still on. 

     Judy sighed, and let the door close behind her. 

     Judy walked over to the fold-out table and placed the two water bottles on it. She walked over to Honey’s bed and carefully picked up her laptop. She turned to place it on the table, but her eye caught what was on the screen.

     It looked like a chat room of some kind.

     Judy squinted and brought her face closer to the screen.

 

_           madgethebadge: _

_           > i said stop contacting me _

_           > i’m not fucking around _

 

_           pandaaaamn: _

_           > neither are we _

_           > you are gonna give us updates, or we release all of it _

_           > honey _

_           > you will give us stuff by saturday _

_           > or all of it goes to the police _

_           > got it? _

 

     Judy felt a sudden spike of adrenaline. She scrolled up to earlier in the conversation.

 

_           pandaaaamn: _

_           > you haven’t checked in _

_           > you’re late _

_           > what’s going on, honey _

_           > don’t ignore me, i see you’re online _

 

_           madgethebadge:  _

_           >stop contacting me _

 

_           pandaaaamn: _

_           > dude _

_           > Updates _

 

_           madgethebadge: _

_           > i said stop contacting me _

 

     Judy’s heart was pounding in her chest. She very carefully placed the computer on the table, the conversation still open in front of her.

     There was a stir behind her.

     Judy quickly and quietly closed the computer. She whirled around to see Honey very groggily sitting up in the bed. She raised her paws to her eyes and began to rub them meditatively. 

     Judy stared at her.

     Honey brought her paws down and glanced over at Judy. She did a tired double take.

     “...Oh, Jesus...I didn’t even hear you come in--”

     “I got some water for you.”

     Judy reached over and grabbed one of the water bottles. Honey blinked.

     “...Mmm…mkay…”

     Judy began to unscrew the cap. Honey looked back over to the rest of the bed. She sat up a little further and flattened some of the blankets around her.

     “...Hey...where’s my…”

     “Hm?”

     “...My computer,” Honey said, “I had it out, and I was…”

     “I got it,” Judy said, gesturing to the table, “Didn’t want it to fall on the floor, or fall in between the bed and the wall. Would’ve been really hard to get it out of there.”

     Honey stared dazedly ahead. “...Yeah...okay…”

     Judy offered Honey the water bottle. Honey looked at it, processing for a moment. 

     She reached out and took it. 

     Judy walked over to the sink and flipped on the light. She took off her fake glasses and placed them on the counter. She examined her face and paws in the mirror, making sure her makeup was still together.

     “What’d you see?”

     Judy turned back to Honey. She was staring at her.

     “Huh?”

     “On my computer,” Honey said. “I just remembered, I had something open on it when I fell asleep, and I...it was just, sorta...did you see any of it?”

     “Oh,” Judy said. She shook her head. “No. I figured whatever it was, it was private, I didn’t wanna trespass or anything.”

     Honey carefully nodded. “Okay. Cool.”

     Judy turned back to the mirror and gave herself one final look. She put her fake glasses back on.

     “I just wanted to make sure, cuz, you know, after the whole thing with  _ Nick _ , yesterday, I just…”

     Judy froze. Her heart sunk into her stomach.

     “...Too soon?” Honey muttered, “That was too soon, huh?”

     “It’s--fine.” Judy struggled, adjusting her cardigan, “Don’t worry about it.”

     “Sorry.”

     “It’s alright.”

     Judy walked back over to the table and grabbed the other water bottle. Honey sniffed and rubbed her nose.

     “...You know what...you know what I’m, like...super craving right now?” she mumbled, “I could, like...I could really go for some peanuts, right now. Like…lightly salted peanuts?”

     Judy blinked at her.

     “Like... _ shit _ , dude…” Honey droned, staring off into space, “I’d be so down for that.”

* * *

     Jack had been gone for fifteen minutes now.

     Nick carefully put his phone back in his pocket. He let out a sigh, and began to drum his fingers on the table. 

     The arctic wolf in the sports coat hadn’t moved.

     Nick felt guilty that he hadn’t gone to check on him yet, but at the same time, he was absolutely terrified to go and do it. What could he run into on the way there? Would the arctic wolf follow him? Would the other wolf still be there? Would Jack be there too, or would he be gone? If he  _ was _ there, would he be conscious?

_      Alive _ ? 

     Although his blueberry pancakes were sitting invitingly in front of him, Nick wasn’t feeling very hungry.

     The door behind him slid open.

     Nick turned around. Jack was walking down the aisle, his hands locked firmly in his pockets.

     Jack glanced at Nick. He mouthed something to him, and he held a paw up to the side of his head, his thumb and pinky sticking out. 

     Nick stared. 

     “My  _ phone _ ,” Jack said, “Have you seen it?”

     Nick’s lips parted for a moment, speechless. “...Your--your  _ phone _ ?”

     “Yeah, I can’t find it…”

     Jack stopped next to the table, and he began to search around the plates and glasses. 

     “...What do you mean?” Nick asked, “Do you--do you not have it on you?”

     “No, I don’t, ” Jack said, lifting the tablecloth and peeking under, “I realized once I got in the bathroom, it wasn’t in my pocket or anything.” 

     Nick could see a distinguishable phone-sized outline in Jack’s right pants pocket.

     “Did I have it out out  _ here _ ?” Jack asked. “Do you remember?”

     “...No,” Nick said very carefully. “I don’t remember you taking it out at all.”

     Jack stared off into space for a moment and sighed. “... _ Shit _ ,” he said. “Okay, I’m--I’m gonna go check the room, just to be sure.”

     Jack started towards the cabins. 

     Nick glanced at the wolf. He straightened up, trying his best to casually look over his shoulder at Jack. Nick swallowed nervously and looked back to Jack.

     Jack began to pat his chest down as he walked. He suddenly stopped in his tracks. He began to rustle through his pockets.

     “...Oh my  _ god _ …”

     He turned to Nick. There was a dumb silence.

     “I don’t have my  _ key _ on me either,” he said softly. “I dunno what’s going on with me today, I just--do you--do you have--”

     “Yes,” Nick said immediately, pushing his chair back and standing up, “I’ve got mine. I’ll come with you.”

     Nick began to walk down the aisle towards Jack. Jack looked back at the table and gestured.

     “What about our food, though, I don’t want it to--”

     “J--Kev, it’s fine,” Nick said, “It’s not gonna--I, I left my glasses in the room, anyways, so we might as well both make the trip…”

     Jack sighed. “Okay…”

     The two of them walked the down the aisle to the door. Jack pushed the button on the wall, and it slid open.

     “ _ Hit the wall, _ ” he muttered, walking into the alcove.

     Nick slipped through the door, and as soon as he heard it close, he threw himself against the side wall. 

     They were in a small space that linked individual cars of the train together. It was a fully enclosed space, only about three or four feet long. On each end was a wall with an electronically activated sliding door, leading to the next car. The side walls and ceiling were actually long, thin, individual panels of metal, attached to each other with small strips of rubber, allowing for movement between the two cars. The floor was made of three parts: two were small extensions out from the individual cars, and the third was a free-flowing panel that had been slid into the gap, pressed up underneath the two extensions. The third was attached to pivots underneath the actual cars, so it could move and adjust with the turning and shifting of the two cars on either side.

     Nick pressed his back against the cold, vibrating metal, his heart pounding. He looked across the alcove to see Jack mirroring him, his back pressed into the corner on the other side. He watched the door carefully. He glanced over at Nick.

     “ _...Put your back to the door _ .” he said, “ _ Get close to it, so he can’t see you if he looks in through the window. _ ”

     Nick quickly stepped up onto the extension of the first car, putting his back against the solid wall next to the door. He looked back over at Jack.

_      “Where were you?” _

_      “...What?” _

_      “Where the fuck  _ were  _ you?”  _ Nick hissed.  _ “You were gone for almost fifteen minutes!” _

_      “…Well, where were  _ you _?” _ Jack spat back.  _ “I said if I wasn’t back in five, come get me. I had to take care of things all on my own, and it wasn’t very--” _

     The door slid open. 

     The arctic wolf in the white sports coat quickly walked to the door to the next car and slipped through.

     Jack and Nick immediately ran to the opposite wall and threw their backs against it. Jack stealthily inched to the window and peeked through.

_      “Did he see us?” _

_      “If he had seen us,” _ Jack whispered,  _ “He would’ve stopped and done something.” _

_      "...Okay," _   Nick said,  “What’s _ he doing now?” _

_      “...He’s headed to the cabin car, I think.” _

     Nick leaned over and peeked through the glass. It was another dining car. He could see the wolf walking down the aisle of tables, headed to the next door.

     Nick and Jack watched in anticipation as the arctic wolf disappeared into the next car.

     “Come on.”

     Jack pressed the button, and the door to the first dining car slid open. He slipped through the doorway, Nick following close behind. 

     They ran down the aisle and flew through the next door. They came to a stop in front of the bathroom. There was something fixed onto the handle of the door--it was some sort of metal contraption made up of multiple pieces, locked tightly around the door’s lever. 

     Jack reached into his jacket. He pulled out the sleek, lightly curved metal case--the same one from from the night they went to the Fangmyer’s house to retrieve Dylan’s computer. Jack popped it open and pulled a small pin from one of the many compartments inside. 

     “Is your gun loaded?”

     Nick swallowed. “What?”

     “Is your gun--”

     “No, it’s--it’s not.”

     “Okay, good,” Jack said. He pressed the pin into a small hole on the strange metal object, and it popped open with a hiss. “Get it out.”

     “Why?”

     Jack took the metal object off the door handle and placed it in the case with the pin. “Showing him we mean business,” he said, “If he’s conscious, we don’t want him trying anything.”

     Jack closed the case and slipped it into the back of his jacket. Jack reached into the front and pulled out his pistol.

     “If he’s  _ conscious _ ?” Nick asked, “What’d you do to--what happened?”

     “I waited for him in here,” Jack said, “Had a little bit of a scuffle. He pulled out a knife, at one point…”

     Jack reached into his pocket and revealed the closed switchblade to Nick, giving it a little wiggle for emphasis.

     “Wasn’t very good at using it, though…”

     “Jesus…”

     “Yep,” Jack said, putting it back in his jacket, “Let’s just hope he doesn’t have anything worse on him…”

     Jack placed his paw on the door, his unloaded gun poised and ready. Nick readied his as well. Jack’s eyes met Nick’s. Nick gave him a nod.

     Jack threw the door open and leveled his gun. Nick jumped behind him, his gun over Jack’s shoulder.

     The bathroom was empty.

     The two of them stared inside for a moment, frozen in a dumb silence.

     “Shit.”

     Jack grabbed Nick and pulled him inside. Nick braced his impact against the sink, as Jack quickly closed and locked the door behind them. The clanking of the tracks roared throughout the room. Nick turned to Jack and threw up his paws, incredulous.

     “You said he was in here.”

     “I know.”

     “What?”

     “ _ I know. _ ”

     “W--okay, well--where did he  _ go _ , Jack?”

     “I don’t  _ know _ ,” Jack said over the sound of the tracks. He began to pace. “He couldn’t have gotten out unless he somehow bypassed the handle-lock, but he couldn’t have even accessed that unless he was outside. Also, he needed to have had a T.U.S.K. issued micro-key to get it to unlock at all, it’s pick-proof.”

     Nick glanced at the blood still stained on the wall and the toilet seat. He sighed.

     “We just can’t catch a break from disappearing mammals, can we?”

     “Maybe there’s more of them than we think,” Jack muttered, “Maybe it’s more than just the two of them, maybe there’s...someone must have come by to let him out, because there’s no way he could’ve done that on his own--”

     “ _ What? _ ”

     “There’s--I said there’s no way he could’ve done that on his--”

     “You, you need to speak up, I can’t--it’s too fuckin’ loud in here, I can’t--”

     Nick glanced around, searching for the source of the deafening drone that echoed throughout the room. The sound of the tracks was filling the entire space, and there was a distinct, repetitive popping noise, as if a window had been left open. 

     Nick squinted up at the ceiling.

     There was a translucent, plexiglass escape door in the ceiling. The latch had been undone, and the door was sitting wide open, the wind blowing it back. 

     Jack followed Nick’s gaze. He froze.

     “...Oh, fuck.”

     “How--" Nick muttered, "How did he even--”

     “I... _ fuck _ .”

     Nick looked down. The toilet was placed directly beneath it.

_      “Oh _ , _ ” _ he said. “Alright, well...that makes things easy then…”

     Nick holstered his gun and carefully stepped up onto the lid of the toilet. He put a foot up onto the top of the tank, testing its stability. He put his arm against the wall to steady himself. He glanced back at Jack. His eyes were still glued to the escape hatch.

_      “I should’ve seen that in my final sweep, why didn’t I--” _

     “Jack, if you could do me the honor,” Nick said, “I’m gonna try and latch my paw up onto the ledge here. If I catch it, I want you to push me up and over. Once I’m on top, I’ll pull you up. Yeah?”

     Jack stared at him. He blinked.

     “We’re going up on the roof of the train?” he asked numbly.

     Nick shrugged. “Unless you have any better ideas, buddy.”

     Jack continued to stare. He blinked.

     “Alright, give it a try.”

     Nick looked back up at the hatch. He reared back, then gave a mighty push with his higher leg, launching himself into the air. His left paw clapped onto the ledge with devastating accuracy. Nick let out a victorious laugh.

     “Like a glove,” he said. “Here, gimme a boost.”

     Jack quickly placed himself under Nick and cupped his paws underneath his foot. He shuffled his feet a little further apart.

     “Alright,” Jack said, “On three.”

     “Alright…”

     Jack gave Nick two small, preparatory bounces, then shoved his foot up with all of his might.

     Nick awkwardly flopped onto the roof of the train on his stomach. His legs were still dangling through the hole. His eyes squinting in the blaring wind, Nick desperately reached for the small railing that lined the edge of the car. He clamped his paw tightly around the small strip of metal, and with all of his strength, he slowly dragged his body across the roof. He started to slowly drift sideways, his left arm being the only acting force. 

     Jack said something beneath him, but the wind took it away.

     Nick desperately threw his right leg up and over the ledge. He gave a push, and he got the rest of his body on top of the car. 

     Nick took a moment to catch his breath, staring at the cold metal beneath his nose. He could feel the air blasting around him, the sound of the wind and the train tracks blaring in his ears. He could see blobs of green, tan, and blue flying past in his peripherals.

     He looked down the length of the train in front of him. 

     A few cars down, a gray timberwolf in a brown leather jacket was apprehensively walking away from him, his wavering arms splayed out at his sides.

     Nick quickly scooted over on his stomach to the hatch opening. He reached his arm down inside.

     “C’MON!”


End file.
